Figueroa v. N.Y.C. Health & Hospital Corp.
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-04165
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Figueroa v. N.Y.C. Health & Hospital Corp., Judge Swain ordered original signatures within 30 days and denied fee-waiver status for an appeal.
Welclen Figueroa, whose case must receive original signatures on the specified filings within 30 days or it will be dismissed.
What happened
In Figueroa v. N.Y.C. Health & Hospital Corp., the court found that Welclen Figueroa had submitted the complaint, fee-waiver application, and prisoner authorization without original signatures.
The court ordered Figueroa to provide original signatures on the required documents within 30 days. No summons will be issued for now, and the action will be dismissed if Figueroa does not comply. The court also denied fee-waiver status for any appeal from this order.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain issued the order directing the signatures and stating that any appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Figueroa v. N.Y.C. Health & Hospital Corp. · No. 1:25-cv-04165
- Laura Swain
- May 27, 2025
Background
Welclen Figueroa brought the action without a lawyer. Figueroa submitted a complaint, an application to proceed without prepaying court fees, and a prisoner authorization. The court stated that none of those documents contained an original signature.
Court’s Analysis
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a) requires an unrepresented party to personally sign a pleading, motion, or other court filing. The court explained that the required signature must be handwritten or another mark placed by the party, rather than merely a typed name or other reproduction.
Order
The court directed Figueroa to submit the attached signature pages, the complaint, the fee-waiver application, and the prisoner authorization with original signatures within 30 days of the order. No summons will issue at this time. If Figueroa complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case under its procedures; if Figueroa does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed.
The court also 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 prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal. The opinion does not address the underlying claims in the complaint.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.