Lopez v. Beacon Main Real Estate Group
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-00460
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Lopez v. Beacon Main Real Estate Group, Judge Swain ordered an original complaint signature within 30 days or the action will be dismissed.
Luther Lopez and the pending action against Beacon Main Real Estate Group and the other named defendants. The case’s further processing depends on Lopez submitting the required original signature.
What happened
In Lopez v. Beacon Main Real Estate Group, Luther Lopez filed a complaint without a signature and is representing himself. The court explained that federal and local rules require an unrepresented party to personally sign a pleading.
The court directed Lopez to resubmit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature within 30 days of the January 22, 2025, order. No summons will issue at this time. If Lopez complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case under its normal procedures; if he does not, the action will be dismissed.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Lopez permission to proceed without paying fees for purposes of an appeal.
The detailed version
- Lopez v. Beacon Main Real Estate Group · No. 1:25-cv-00460
- Laura Swain
- Jan. 22, 2025
Background
Luther Lopez brought the action without a lawyer. The opinion states that he submitted the complaint without a signature. 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 cited the Supreme Court’s explanation that the required signature is a name handwritten or a mark placed by hand.
Order
The court directed Lopez to resubmit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature within 30 days of the order. The court stated that no summons would issue at that time. If Lopez complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he does not comply within the permitted time, the action will be dismissed.
Appeal-related ruling
Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. The court therefore denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.