Zubair v. Bank of America
- Louis Stanton
- 1:20-cv-01308
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Zubair v. Bank of America, Judge McMahon ordered an original signature and payment or amended fee-waiver application within 30 days.
Ahmed Husain Zubair, who must correct the complaint’s signature and either pay the filing fees or submit a complete amended fee-waiver application before the action can proceed.
What happened
Ahmed Husain Zubair sued Bank of America and others without a lawyer. The complaint lacked an original signature, and the court found that his initial request to proceed without paying fees did not provide enough information to show that he could not pay.
The court ordered Zubair, within 30 days, to submit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature and either pay the required $400 in fees or submit a complete amended fee-waiver application. The amended application must provide information about his assets, debts, and financial support for others.
Chief Judge Colleen McMahon ordered that no summons issue yet and said the action would be processed if Zubair complied. The court stated that it would dismiss the action if he did not comply and denied fee-waiver status for any appeal from the order.
The detailed version
- Zubair v. Bank of America · No. 1:20-cv-01308
- Louis Stanton
- Feb. 24, 2020
Background
Ahmed Husain Zubair brought the action without a lawyer. The complaint was submitted without a signature. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a) requires an unrepresented party to personally sign a pleading, and the court explained that this means an original handwritten signature or mark.
Zubair also submitted an application to proceed without prepaying filing fees. The court stated that the application did not show, based on the information provided, that he was unable to pay. Zubair reported that he was employed and earned $65 per hour, had $1,500 in a bank account, and owned stocks, a car, and a house, but he did not give the values of those assets. He also reported car-loan payments of $575 per month, unspecified house payments, and financial support for his wife and six children without stating the amount of that support. The court also considered an award made to him in a prior related proceeding, including $115,175.67 awarded on December 18, 2012 and an additional $45,000 in attorneys’ fees and costs awarded on April 25, 2014.
Court’s Order
The court directed Zubair to resubmit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature within 30 days of the order. Within the same period, he had to either pay the $400 required to commence a civil action—consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $50 administrative fee—or submit an amended application to proceed without prepaying fees.
The court required the amended application to fully and completely answer all questions, including questions about the value of Zubair’s stocks, car, house, and other assets; his debts; and the amounts he contributes to each person he financially supports. The application was to identify docket number 20-CV-1308 (CM).
Disposition and Effect
Chief Judge Colleen McMahon directed the Clerk of Court to mail the order to Zubair and note service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time. The action would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures if Zubair complied. If he failed to comply within the allowed time, the court stated that it would dismiss the action. The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-waiver status for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.