Ong v. Town of Wallkill Building Dept. & personnel
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-02123
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Ong v. Town of Walkill Building Dept., Judge Swain ordered the unrepresented plaintiff to submit signed forms within 30 days or face dismissal without prejudice.
Bienvenido P. Ong, who must submit the required signed forms within 30 days to avoid dismissal without prejudice; the defendants are not required to respond at this stage.
What happened
In Bienvenido P. Ong v. Town of WALKILL Building Dept. & Personnel, Ong submitted one unsigned document that appeared to include both a request to waive filing fees and a complaint. The court found the submission incomplete because it lacked a signature, facts, claims, and requested relief.
The court ordered Ong to complete, sign, and file the attached fee-waiver application and complaint form within 30 days. No summons or answer will issue at this time, and the case will be processed by the Clerk’s Office if he complies.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain warned that the action will be dismissed without prejudice if Ong does not comply on time. She also denied fee-waiver status for any appeal because the court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Ong v. Town of Wallkill Building Dept. & personnel · No. 1:25-cv-02123
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 19, 2025
Background
Bienvenido P. Ong brought the action without a lawyer. He submitted one unsigned document that appeared to contain both an application to proceed without paying the filing fees and a complaint. The court determined that the submission was deficient.
Court’s Analysis
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 3 provides that a civil action begins when a complaint is filed. Rule 11(a) requires an unrepresented party to personally sign a pleading, written motion, or other paper. The court concluded that Ong’s submission did not satisfy these requirements. It also stated that the submitted complaint form lacked a statement of facts, a description of his claims, and the relief he sought.
Order and Effect
The court directed Ong to complete, sign, and file the attached application to proceed in forma pauperis, meaning an application to proceed without paying the filing fees, and to complete, sign, and file the attached complaint form within 30 days of the order. No summons or answer shall issue at this time. If Ong complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case under its procedures. If he does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed without prejudice, meaning the order does not bar a later filing.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied in forma pauperis status for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.