Sowell v. The New York City Police Department
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-05348
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Sowell v. The New York City Police Department, Judge Swain ordered Randy Sowell to update his address within 30 days or face dismissal without prejudice.
Randy Sowell and the status of his case. He was ordered to update his address within 30 days, or the case would be dismissed without prejudice for failure to prosecute. Any appeal would not qualify for permission to proceed without prepaying filing fees.
What happened
In Sowell v. The New York City Police Department, Randy Sowell had previously told the court that he was detained at Rikers Island, but later indicated that he had been extradited to New Jersey without providing a forwarding address. Public records indicated that he was detained at Cape May Correctional Facility.
The court ordered Sowell to provide his current address in writing within 30 days. It warned that failing to do so would result in dismissal of the case without prejudice for failing to prosecute it.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to proceed without paying filing fees for any appeal and stated that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Sowell v. The New York City Police Department · No. 1:23-cv-05348
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 28, 2024
Background
The court had previously directed Randy Sowell either to pay the filing fee or request permission to proceed without prepaying it, along with a required prisoner authorization. Sowell submitted those materials. They stated that he was detained at the Anna M. Kross Center at Rikers Island, while his original submission listed the now-closed Vernon C. Bain Center.
In a prior related proceeding, Sowell indicated that he had been extradited to New Jersey from Rikers Island but did not provide a forwarding address. Public records maintained by the Cape May County Sheriff’s Office indicated that he was detained at Cape May Correctional Facility.
Address-update requirement
The court explained that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) allows a court to dismiss a case for failure to prosecute when a plaintiff does not notify the court of a new address and the court cannot contact the plaintiff. The court notified Sowell that he had to update his address within 30 days of the order.
The order did not dismiss the case at that time. Instead, it stated that failure to comply within the allowed time would result in dismissal under Rule 41(b), without prejudice to refiling.
Disposition
The court ordered Sowell to update his address in writing within 30 days. It also directed the Clerk of Court to mail him a copy of the order at Cape May Correctional Facility. The court denied permission to proceed without prepaying filing fees for an appeal and certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.