Sowell v. The New York City Department of Homeless Services
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-05346
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Sowell v. The New York City Department of Homeless Services, Judge Swain ordered Randy Sowell to update his address within 30 days.
Randy Sowell, whose case could be dismissed without prejudice if he did not provide an updated address within 30 days; any appeal from the order would not receive permission to proceed without prepaying filing fees.
What happened
In Sowell v. The New York City Department of Homeless Services, Randy Sowell’s filings showed different detention facilities, and the court learned he had been moved to New Jersey without providing a forwarding address.
The court ordered Sowell to give the court 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 failure to prosecute, meaning he could refile it. The court also denied permission to proceed without prepaying filing fees for any appeal from this order.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain issued the order. The court did not dismiss the case at this time; it directed Sowell to update his address and stated what would happen if he did not comply.
The detailed version
- Sowell v. The New York City Department of Homeless Services · No. 1:23-cv-05346
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 28, 2024
Background
Randy Sowell filed an application to proceed without prepaying the filing fee and submitted a prisoner authorization. Those documents indicated that he was detained at the Anna M. Kross Center at Rikers Island, while his original filing listed the Vernon C. Bain Center, a facility that had closed.
The court later received information in a prior related proceeding that Sowell had been extradited to New Jersey from Rikers Island. He did not provide a forwarding address. The court stated that public records indicated he was detained at the Cape May Correctional Facility.
Order to Update Address
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b) permits a district court to dismiss an action for failure to prosecute after notifying the plaintiff. The court explained that failing to notify the court of a new address, when the court cannot contact the plaintiff, can support dismissal under that rule.
The court ordered Sowell to update his address in writing within 30 days of the order. It stated that failure to comply would result in dismissal of the action without prejudice under Rule 41(b) for failure to prosecute. The order therefore directed an address update and warned of a possible future dismissal; it did not dismiss the action at that time.
Other Disposition
The court directed the Clerk of Court to mail the order to Sowell at the Cape May Correctional Facility. It also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying filing fees for purposes of an appeal. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.