Rodriguez-Morales v. Breaking Ground
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-00799
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
Rodriguez-Morales v. Breaking Ground: Judge Swain ordered a signature and warned the case could be dismissed without prejudice if it is not provided.
Enki Rodriguez-Morales, who must provide the required signature for the action to proceed; the action will be dismissed without prejudice if he does not comply within 30 days.
What happened
In Rodriguez-Morales v. Breaking Ground, Enki Rodriguez-Morales filed the action without a lawyer, but the application to proceed without paying the filing fee was unsigned.
The court ordered Rodriguez-Morales to sign and submit the attached signature page within 30 days. No summons or answer will issue for now; if the signature is not submitted on time, the action will be dismissed without prejudice.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying appeal fees.
The detailed version
- Rodriguez-Morales v. Breaking Ground · No. 1:25-cv-00799
- Laura Swain
- Apr. 2, 2025
Background
Enki Rodriguez-Morales brought this action without a lawyer. The application to proceed without paying the filing fee was unsigned.
Court’s reasoning
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a) requires an unrepresented party to personally sign every pleading, written motion, and other paper. The court cited that rule and a Supreme Court decision explaining that the signature must be handwritten or otherwise physically placed by the party.
Order and effect
The court directed Rodriguez-Morales to sign and submit the attached signature page within 30 days of the order. No summons or answer will issue at this time. If Rodriguez-Morales complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case under its procedures. If Rodriguez-Morales does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed without prejudice, meaning the order does not bar refiling.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal. The order does not decide the underlying claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.