Li v. United Nations
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-03289
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Li v. United Nations, Judge Swain dismissed the action without prejudice and denied fee-free status for an appeal.
Wen Qin Li's case was dismissed without prejudice because Li did not obtain the permission required by an earlier filing restriction. The United Nations and World Health Organization were the named defendants. Li was also denied permission to proceed without paying the filing fee on appeal.
What happened
Wen Qin Li filed a new case against the United Nations and World Health Organization without a lawyer and asked to proceed without paying the filing fee. An earlier court order barred Li from filing new fee-free cases without first obtaining permission.
Li had not obtained that permission before filing this case. The court therefore dismissed the action without prejudice because Li did not comply with the earlier filing restriction.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for the appeal. The clerk was directed to enter judgment.
The detailed version
- Li v. United Nations · No. 1:24-cv-03289
- Laura Swain
- May 9, 2024
Background
Wen Qin Li filed this pro se action against the United Nations and World Health Organization and requested permission to proceed without paying the filing fee. The opinion states that an October 4, 2016 order barred Li from filing any new action without paying the fee unless Li first obtained permission from the court. That restriction followed repeated filings against the same organizations that the earlier order characterized as repetitive and frivolous.
Court’s Reasoning
The court stated that Li had not requested or obtained the required permission before filing this case. It therefore dismissed the action for failure to comply with the 2016 order. The dismissal was without prejudice, meaning the opinion did not bar refiling on that basis.
Ruling
Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed the action without prejudice under 28 U.S.C. § 1651. The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Li permission to proceed without paying the filing fee for an appeal. The clerk was directed to enter judgment.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.