COLAS v. Influential
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-08197
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Colas v. Influential, Judge Swain ordered a signed complaint within 30 days or dismissal.
Luzshara Colas must provide a valid signature or have counsel file the required documents within 30 days; otherwise, the action will be dismissed. Influential, Inc. is affected because no summons will issue while the signature requirement remains unresolved.
What happened
In Luzshara Colas v. Influential, Inc., Luzshara Colas submitted a complaint through the court’s email-filing procedures for people representing themselves, but the complaint was unsigned.
The order requires Colas to submit a signed signature page within 30 days. If she has a lawyer, the lawyer must instead file a signed complaint and a notice stating that the lawyer represents her within the same period. No summons will issue while this is pending.
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain stated that the action will be dismissed if Colas does not comply. Judge Swain also ruled that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying the filing fees.
The detailed version
- COLAS v. Influential · No. 1:25-cv-08197
- Laura Swain
- Oct. 15, 2025
Background
Luzshara Colas submitted the complaint using the court’s email-filing procedures for people representing themselves. The court stated that the complaint appeared to be intended as a self-represented filing, but Colas had not signed it. Instead, the complaint contained a blank signature block for Randy A. Hernandez, Esq., of the Law Offices of Randy A. Hernandez, PLLC.
Court’s Analysis
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a) requires every pleading, written motion, and other paper to be signed by an attorney of record or, when a party is unrepresented, by the party personally. The court also cited Local Civil Rule 11.1(a) and explained that the signature must be handwritten or otherwise physically placed by the signer.
Order
The court directed Colas to submit a revised signature page bearing her signature within 30 days of the order. If she is represented by counsel, her attorney must file a signed copy of the complaint and a notice of appearance within 30 days. No summons shall issue at this time. If Colas complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if she 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 any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied permission to appeal without paying the required filing fees.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.