Kenan v. John and Jim Doe
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-00098
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Kenan v. John and Jim Doe, Judge Swain ordered James Kenan to submit a handwritten signature or face dismissal.
James Kenan and the processing of his action; the opinion also states that no summons will issue at this time.
What happened
In Kenan v. John and Jim Doe, James Kenan filed a complaint without a signature while representing himself. The court explained that court filings by an unrepresented person must be personally signed.
The court ordered Kenan to send the complaint’s signature page with an original signature within 30 days. No summons will be issued for now. If he complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case; if he does not, the action will be dismissed.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to appeal without paying court fees, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Kenan v. John and Jim Doe · No. 1:25-cv-00098
- Laura Swain
- Jan. 14, 2025
Background
James Kenan brought this action without a lawyer. He submitted the complaint without a signature. The opinion states that the action was initially filed in the Northern District of New York and was transferred to the Southern District of New York on January 2, 2025.
Signature Requirement
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a) and Local Civil Rule 11.1(a) require a court filing by an unrepresented party to be signed personally. The court stated that this requires a handwritten signature or a handplaced mark.
Order
The court directed Kenan to submit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature within 30 days of the order. No summons shall issue at this time. If Kenan complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case under its procedures. If he fails to comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed.
Appeal-Cost Determination
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied permission to appeal without paying the required court fees for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.