Barkley v. Otisville Correctional Facility
- Nelson Roman
- 7:24-cv-05017
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Barkley v. Otisville Correctional Facility, Judge Swain ordered a signed complaint within 30 days or dismissal.
Peter J. Barkley, who must provide an original signature on the complaint’s signature page within 30 days or the action will be dismissed.
What happened
In Barkley v. Otisville Correctional Facility, Peter J. Barkley filed a complaint without a lawyer, but did not sign it.
The court ordered Barkley to submit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature within 30 days. The court said no summons would issue for now and that the case would proceed through the Clerk’s Office if he complied; otherwise, the action would be dismissed.
Judge Swain also denied fee-free appeal status, finding that any appeal would not be taken in good faith. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Barkley v. Otisville Correctional Facility · No. 7:24-cv-05017
- Nelson Roman
- July 8, 2024
Background
Peter J. Barkley brought this action without a lawyer. He submitted a complaint that did not contain a signature.
Court’s order
The court explained that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a) and Local Civil Rule 11.1(a) require an unrepresented party to sign a pleading personally. The court directed Barkley to submit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature within 30 days of the order. A copy of the signature page was attached.
The court ordered that no summons issue at that time. If Barkley complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he did not comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
Appeal ruling and classification
Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free appeal status for purposes of an appeal. The order addressed the complaint’s missing signature and did not reach the underlying claims. It is therefore a procedural order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.