Jane Doe v. Dolan
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-10521
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 15
In Jane Doe v. Dolan, Judge Swain gave Jane Doe 30 days to correct filing defects, pay fees or apply to proceed without prepaying, and support anonymity.
Jane Doe must correct the signature and fee or fee-waiver defects and properly support any request to proceed anonymously; the case may be dismissed if she does not comply within 30 days. James Dolan and the other defendants are affected because the case will not proceed to summons issuance unless Jane Doe complies.
What happened
Jane Doe v. Dolan is a case brought without a lawyer. The complaint lacked an original signature, the required fees or a signed application to avoid prepaying them, and Jane Doe’s true name. The court treated the use of “Jane Doe” as a request to proceed anonymously.
The court had previously ordered Jane Doe to correct those problems, but her response still used “Jane Doe,” included an unsigned application, and did not explain why anonymity was necessary. The court gave her an additional 30 days to submit the required materials using her true name.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered Jane Doe to provide a properly signed complaint, pay the fees or submit a completed and signed application to avoid prepaying them, and provide a supported anonymity motion if she seeks anonymity. No summons will issue yet; failure to comply will result in dismissal, and the court denied fee-free status for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Jane Doe v. Dolan · No. 1:23-cv-10521
- Laura Swain
- July 2, 2024
Background
Jane Doe brought the action without a lawyer against James Dolan and other defendants. The complaint was filed without an original handwritten or otherwise personally placed signature. Jane Doe also did not pay the $402 in required fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying them. Because she filed under the name “Jane Doe” rather than providing her true name, the court treated the filing as including a request to proceed anonymously.
Earlier Order and Noncompliance
The court had previously directed Jane Doe to submit an original signature, either pay the fees or provide a completed and signed application to proceed without prepaying them, and file a motion explaining why anonymity was necessary. The court also directed that the submissions use Jane Doe’s true name. Jane Doe responded with a signature page signed “Jane Doe,” an unsigned application, and a motion that did not explain the need for anonymity, although the motion appeared to include a version of her true name.
Court’s Order
The court granted Jane Doe an additional 30 days from the date of the order to comply. It directed her to resubmit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature using her true name, and either pay the $402 in fees or submit a completed and signed amended application to proceed without prepaying fees or costs. Any amended application and anonymity motion also had to be completed and signed using her true name. The court stated that access to documents revealing her true name would be limited to court view only.
No summons will issue at this time. If Jane Doe complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case under its procedures. If she does not comply within the allowed period, the action will be dismissed. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. The order did not decide the underlying claims or the request to proceed anonymously.
Read the full 15-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.