In re: Devin Dyer
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-05586
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In re: Devin Dyer: Judge Swain ordered the pro se plaintiff to submit an original signature within 30 days or face dismissal.
Devin Dyer, the unrepresented plaintiff, must provide an original signature within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action.
What happened
In In re: Devin Dyer, the plaintiff filed a complaint without a handwritten or otherwise original signature. The plaintiff was representing themself.
The court ordered the plaintiff to submit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature within 30 days. No summons will issue for now, and the case will proceed through the Clerk’s Office if the plaintiff complies.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain said the action will be dismissed if the plaintiff does not comply. She also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees for any appeal from this order, finding that such an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- In re: Devin Dyer · No. 1:25-cv-05586
- Laura Swain
- July 25, 2025
Background
Devin Dyer brought the action without a lawyer. The complaint was submitted without a signature.
Signature requirement
The court cited Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a), which requires an unrepresented party to personally sign a pleading or other filing. The court explained that the rule requires an original handwritten signature or a handplaced mark.
Order
The court directed the plaintiff to submit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature within 30 days of the order. A copy of the signature page was attached. No summons will issue at this time. If the plaintiff complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If the plaintiff does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed.
Appeal-fee ruling
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal from this order.
Disposition
The court entered an order directing the plaintiff to provide an original signature. The opinion does not decide the underlying claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.