Case: Equal Vote America Corp v. Mcconnell

1:19-cv-08178 | U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

Filed Date: Sept. 3, 2019

Closed Date: Dec. 3, 2019

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Case Summary

This is a case alleging that Congress's refusal to consider the nomination of Merrick Garland for Supreme Court Justice was unconstitutional. On September 3, 2019, Equal Vote America Corporation, a not-for-profit corporation with the mission of educating the general public on voting rights, filed suit against Senators McConnell and Grassley, in their respectively roles as Majority Leader and Chair of the Judiciary Committee, seeking a declaration that the United States Senate's refusal to cons…

This is a case alleging that Congress's refusal to consider the nomination of Merrick Garland for Supreme Court Justice was unconstitutional.

On September 3, 2019, Equal Vote America Corporation, a not-for-profit corporation with the mission of educating the general public on voting rights, filed suit against Senators McConnell and Grassley, in their respectively roles as Majority Leader and Chair of the Judiciary Committee, seeking a declaration that the United States Senate's refusal to consider then-President Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States was unconstitutional. Plaintiff argued that this refusal to consider the nomination violated the constitutional principle of Separation of Power, the Executive Power Clause in Article II § 1, the Appointment Clause Article II § 2, and Due Process. Plaintiff sought declaratory relief.

On November 18, 2019, the Court ordered Plaintiff to show cause why the Complaint should not be dismissed for failure to properly serve the Defendants.

On December 3, 2019, the Court dismissed Plaintiff's complaint without prejudice for failing to demonstrate that service was properly effectuated.

The case is now closed.

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Summary Authors

Rahool Patel (7/29/2024)

People

For PACER's information on parties and their attorneys, see: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/16145580/parties/equal-vote-america-corp-v-mcconnell/

Judge(s)

Cote, Denise (New York)

Attorney for Plaintiff

Liu, Yu-Xi (Glen) (New York)

Judge(s)

Cote, Denise (New York)

Attorney for Plaintiff

Liu, Yu-Xi (Glen) (New York)

Attorney Contact Information via CourtListener

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Documents in the Clearinghouse

	Document
1 1:19-cv-08178	Complaint Equal Vote America Corp v. McConnell	Sept. 3, 2019	Sept. 3, 2019 Complaint
7 1:19-cv-08178	Order Equal Vote America Corp v. McConnell	Nov. 18, 2019	Nov. 18, 2019 Order/Opinion

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Docket

See docket on RECAP: https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/16145580/equal-vote-america-corp-v-mcconnell/

Last updated Aug. 9, 2025, 9:29 p.m.

ECF Number	Description	Date	Link Date / Link
1	Complaint 1 Appendix Full Names and Address of Co-Plaintiffs who have consented to join in t View on PACER	Sept. 3, 2019	Sept. 3, 2019 Clearinghouse
	Notice to Attorney to Submit/File Civil Cover Sheet	Sept. 4, 2019	Sept. 4, 2019 PACER
	Notice to Attorney Regarding Case Opening Statistical Error Correction	Sept. 4, 2019	Sept. 4, 2019 PACER
	Notice to Attorney Regarding Party Modification	Sept. 4, 2019	Sept. 4, 2019 PACER
	Case Opening Initial Assignment Notice	Sept. 4, 2019	Sept. 4, 2019 PACER
	Case Designation	Sept. 4, 2019	Sept. 4, 2019 PACER
	Case Designated ECF	Sept. 4, 2019	Sept. 4, 2019 PACER
	Case Accepted as Related	Sept. 9, 2019	Sept. 9, 2019 PACER
	Notice of Case Assignment/Reassignment	Sept. 9, 2019	Sept. 9, 2019 PACER
	Case Redesignation	Sept. 9, 2019	Sept. 9, 2019 PACER
2	Order for Initial Pretrial Conference	Sept. 10, 2019	Sept. 10, 2019 PACER
3	Request for Issuance of Summons	Sept. 13, 2019	Sept. 13, 2019 PACER
	Notice to Attorney Regarding Deficient Request for Issuance of Summons	Sept. 16, 2019	Sept. 16, 2019 PACER
4	Request for Issuance of Summons	Sept. 16, 2019	Sept. 16, 2019 PACER
5	Summons Issued	Sept. 17, 2019	Sept. 17, 2019 PACER
6	Affidavit of Service Complaints	Sept. 24, 2019	Sept. 24, 2019 PACER
7	ORDER: An Order of July 9, 2019, dismissed without prejudice the related case, 19cv2346, due to the plaintiffs failure to timely file an affidavit of service showing compliance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(i)(2). Hours after the case was dismissed, the pl aintiffs filed a motion to reopen the case and for leave to file an affirmation that process had been served in compliance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(i)(2). On July 10, 2019, this Court denied the plaintiffs motion. The July 10 Order explained that the following was insufficient to demonstrate that service was effectuated in accordance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(i)(2): an affirmation of service in which counsel for the plaintiffs affirmed that he had served the pleadings upon the defendant in this acti on pursuant to Federal Rule 4(i)(2) with an attachment of a photo of a receipt for the shipment of three items... [that] did not contain any information regarding the recipients of the shipped items. On September 3, 2019, the plaintiffs filed the ab ove-captioned action. On September 24, the plaintiffs filed an affirmation of service in which counsel for the plaintiffs affirmed that he had served the Summons and Complaint upon the defendants in this action pursuant to Federal Rule 4(i)(2) on Se ptember 24, 2019. Attached to this affirmation was a photo of a receipt for the shipment of two items. The receipt did not contain any information regarding the recipients of the shipped items. USDA.Southern is handwritten next to one shipment ite m. McConnell is handwritten next to the other shipment item. This handwriting does not cure the deficiencies identified in the July 10 Order in 19cv2346. Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED that counsel for the plaintiffs shall show cause by November 22, 2019 why this case should not be dismissed for failure to prosecute. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the pretrial conference scheduled for November 22, 2019 is adjourned sine die. (Signed by Judge Denise L. Cote on 11/18/2019) (gr)	Nov. 18, 2019	Nov. 18, 2019 Clearinghouse
8	Motion for Extension of Time	Nov. 21, 2019	Nov. 21, 2019 PACER
9	ORDER: It is hereby ORDERED that this case is dismissed without prejudice for failure to demonstrate that service was properly effectuated. (as further set forth herein). Motions terminated: 8 FIRST LETTER MOTION for Extension of Time on service of process addressed to Judge Denise L. Cote from Yu-Xi (Glen) Liu, Esq. dated 11/21/2019. filed by Equal Vote America Corp., Lewis Y. Liu. (Signed by Judge Denise L. Cote on 12/3/2019) (kv)	Dec. 3, 2019	Dec. 3, 2019 RECAP

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Case Details

State / Territory: New York

Case Type(s):

Election/Voting Rights

Special Collection(s):

Law Firm Antiracism Alliance (LFAA) project

Key Dates

Filing Date: Sept. 3, 2019

Closing Date: Dec. 3, 2019

Case Ongoing: No

Plaintiffs

Plaintiff Description:

Plaintiff is a not-for-profit corporation with the mission of educating the general public on voting rights and promoting voter participation in the election process without supporting any particular political party or candidate.

Plaintiff Type(s):

Non-profit NON-religious organization

Public Interest Lawyer: No

Filed Pro Se: No

Class Action Sought: No

Class Action Outcome: Not sought

Defendants

Mitch McConnell (District of Columbia), Federal

Charles Grassley (District of Columbia), Federal

Case Details

Available Documents:

Trial Court Docket