White v. Rikers Island DOC
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-06406
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Robert White v. Rikers Island DOC, Judge Swain ordered an original signature within 30 days or the action will be dismissed.
Robert White, the unrepresented plaintiff, must provide an original signature within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action. The defendants are Rikers Island DOC and Bob Barker Company, Inc.
What happened
In Robert White v. Rikers Island DOC; Bob Barker Company, Inc., Robert White filed the case without a lawyer, but he did not sign the complaint. The court also noted that 18 other plaintiffs had originally joined the action, but their claims were separated into different cases, leaving White as the sole plaintiff here.
The court ordered White to submit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature within 30 days. No summons will be issued yet. If White complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case; if he does not, the action will be dismissed.
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain also determined that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal.
The detailed version
- White v. Rikers Island DOC · No. 1:25-cv-06406
- Laura Swain
- Sept. 4, 2025
Background
Robert White brought this action without a lawyer. He submitted the complaint without signing it. The court noted that White had originally brought the action with 18 other co-plaintiffs. In an August 26, 2025 order, the court separated the other plaintiffs’ claims and directed the Clerk of Court to open them as separate civil actions. White remained the sole plaintiff in this case.
Signature Requirement
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a) and Local Civil Rule 11.1(a) require an unrepresented party to sign a pleading personally. The court explained that the required signature must be handwritten or a mark placed by hand.
The court ordered White to resubmit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature within 30 days of the order. No summons will issue at this time. If White complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed.
Appeal-Fee Determination
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied permission to proceed without paying fees for purposes of an appeal. Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.