Simonaj v. Garland
- Rearden
- 1:23-cv-10322
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Simonaj v. Garland, Judge Rearden dismissed the petition without prejudice because counsel repeatedly failed to correct the filing or prosecute the case.
The ruling ended Armando Simonaj’s detention challenge in this action because his attorney did not correct the petition or comply with court orders. The respondents were not required to litigate the detention issue on the merits.
What happened
In Simonaj v. Garland, Armando Simonaj challenged his mandatory detention under Department of Homeland Security regulations through a petition asking the court to cancel the detention order. The petition was not properly signed by his attorney, Sam Gjoni, and the court directed him to file a corrected version.
Mr. Gjoni did not correct the petition, respond to orders, or object to the magistrate judge’s recommendation that the case be dismissed for failure to prosecute. The district court reviewed the recommendation for clear error because no objections were filed.
Judge Jennifer H. Rearden adopted the recommendation and dismissed the action without prejudice for failure to prosecute under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b). The clerk was directed to close the case.
The detailed version
- Simonaj v. Garland · No. 1:23-cv-10322
- Rearden
- Feb. 29, 2024
Background
Armando Simonaj filed a petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 seeking to vacate an order requiring his detention under Department of Homeland Security regulations. The Clerk of Court notified his attorney, Sam Gjoni, that the petition was deficient because the attorney had not properly signed it and directed him to refile it.
Failure to Comply with Court Orders
Mr. Gjoni did not refile the petition. Magistrate Judge Cave then ordered him to file a corrected petition by January 3, 2024, and warned that failure to do so could lead to dismissal for failure to prosecute. After Mr. Gjoni again failed to respond, Judge Cave issued an order to show cause. That order gave him another opportunity either to file a corrected petition or to explain why the signature should be accepted, and warned that failure to comply would result in a recommendation that the petition be dismissed without prejudice.
Mr. Gjoni did not respond to the order to show cause, file a corrected petition, or otherwise communicate with the court. Judge Cave issued a Report and Recommendation recommending dismissal under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b), which permits dismissal when a plaintiff fails to prosecute an action or comply with a court order. Simonaj did not object to the recommendation.
District Court’s Review and Ruling
Because no party objected, Judge Rearden reviewed the Report and Recommendation for clear error, meaning an obvious mistake on the face of the record. She found no such error and adopted the report in its entirety. The court also stated that Simonaj’s failure to object waived appellate review of purported errors in the report.
The court dismissed the action without prejudice for failure to prosecute under Rule 41(b) and directed the Clerk of Court to close the case. The opinion did not decide whether Simonaj’s mandatory detention was lawful.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.