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S.D.N.Y.Procedural orderFiled June 24, 2024

West v. Human Resources Administration Department of Social Services/Department…

Full caption

West v. Human Resources Administration Department of Social Services/Department of Homeless Services

Judge
Laura Swain
Docket
1:24-cv-03427
Court
U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
Pages
1
Civil Procedure
In one sentence

In West v. Human Resources Administration, Chief Judge Swain dismissed the complaint without prejudice after Carmen Maria West failed to submit an original signature.

Who this affects

Carmen Maria West's complaint was dismissed without prejudice, and permission to appeal without paying the filing fee was denied.

What happened

Carmen Maria West sued the Human Resources Administration Department of Social Services and the Department of Homeless Services. The court had ordered her to resubmit the signature page of her application to proceed without paying filing fees, with an original signature, within thirty days.

The court said West did not submit the signed page. It therefore dismissed the complaint without prejudice, meaning it could potentially be filed again.

Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied West permission to proceed without paying the appeal filing fee.

The detailed version

For law students, journalists, and other readers who want the full reasoning

Case
West v. Human Resources Administration Department of Social Services/Department… · No. 1:24-cv-03427
Judge
Laura Swain
Date
June 24, 2024

Background

By an order dated May 6, 2024, the court directed Carmen Maria West to resubmit the signature page of her application to proceed without paying the filing fee. The court required an original signature and warned that failing to comply would result in dismissal of the complaint.

Ruling

The court found that West had not submitted the signed signature page. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a), the court dismissed the complaint without prejudice. The opinion does not decide the merits of West's claims against the Human Resources Administration Department of Social Services or the Department of Homeless Services.

The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied permission to proceed without paying the filing fee for an appeal. Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.

The authoritative version

Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.

Open opinion PDF →
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