Rodriguez-Morales v. Center for Urban Community Services
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-00800
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Rodriguez-Morales v. Center for Urban Community Services, Judge Swain ordered the self-represented plaintiff to sign his fee-waiver application or face dismissal without prejudice.
Enki Rodriguez-Morales, whose case will proceed only if he timely signs the required page; the action would otherwise be dismissed without prejudice, and no summons or answer issues yet.
What happened
In Rodriguez-Morales v. Center for Urban Community Services, Enki Rodriguez-Morales brought the action without a lawyer and submitted an unsigned application to proceed without paying filing fees.
The court ordered Rodriguez-Morales to sign and return the attached signature page within 30 days. The court said that no summons or answer would be issued yet, and that the case would proceed through the Clerk’s Office if he complied. If he did not comply on time, the action would be dismissed without prejudice.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Rodriguez-Morales v. Center for Urban Community Services · No. 1:25-cv-00800
- Laura Swain
- Apr. 2, 2025
Background
Enki Rodriguez-Morales filed the action without a lawyer. His application to proceed without paying the filing fee was unsigned. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a) requires an unrepresented party to personally sign a pleading, written motion, or other paper.
Order
The court directed Rodriguez-Morales to sign and submit the attached signature page within 30 days of the order. The court directed that no summons or answer issue at that time. If Rodriguez-Morales complied, the Clerk’s Office would process the case under its procedures. If he failed to comply within the permitted time, the action would be dismissed without prejudice, meaning the order did not bar a later filing on that basis.
Appeal and disposition
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for purposes of an appeal. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order. The opinion does not decide the underlying claims against the defendants.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.