Williams v. City of New York
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-04283
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Williams v. City of New York, Judge Swain ordered Natalie Williams to submit an original signature within 30 days or face dismissal.
Natalie E. Williams, who must provide an original signature for her complaint to proceed; the City of New York and the other defendants are not required to respond while no summons has issued.
What happened
Williams v. City of New York concerns Natalie E. Williams’s complaint against the City of New York and other defendants. Williams filed the case without a lawyer but did not sign the complaint.
The court ordered Williams to resubmit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature within 30 days of the order. No summons will be issued while the court waits for compliance.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain stated that the action will be dismissed if Williams does not comply. She also denied fee-free status for any appeal from this order, finding that such an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Williams v. City of New York · No. 1:24-cv-04283
- Laura Swain
- June 10, 2024
Background
Natalie E. Williams brought this action without a lawyer. She submitted a complaint that did not contain her signature.
Signature requirement
The court explained that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a) and Local Civil Rule 11.1(a) require an unrepresented party to personally sign a complaint or other court filing. The court cited the Supreme Court’s interpretation that the required signature must be handwritten or otherwise physically placed on the document.
Order
The court directed Williams to resubmit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature within 30 days of the order. The court attached a copy of the signature page for that purpose. No summons will issue at this time. If Williams complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If she does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed.
Appeal-related ruling
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. This order did not itself dismiss the action.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.