Dunn v. Sullivan Co. Jail
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:20-cv-03081
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Dunn v. Sullivan County Jail, Judge McMahon ordered a handwritten signature within 30 days and withheld a summons until compliance.
Robert L. Dunn, Sr.’s case was required to meet the signature requirement before proceeding; the defendants were not otherwise addressed in the order.
What happened
In Dunn v. Sullivan County Jail, Robert L. Dunn, Sr. filed the case without signing the complaint. He was representing himself, so the court said he had to provide a handwritten or personally placed signature.
The court ordered Dunn to resubmit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature within 30 days. No summons would be issued at that time, and the case would proceed through the Clerk’s Office if he complied. The court said the action would be dismissed if he did not comply within the allowed time.
Judge Colleen McMahon also ruled that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Dunn permission to appeal without paying filing fees. The order directed the Clerk to mail Dunn a copy and record service on the docket.
The detailed version
- Dunn v. Sullivan Co. Jail · No. 1:20-cv-03081
- Colleen McMahon
- May 14, 2020
Background
Robert L. Dunn, Sr. brought the action without a lawyer. He submitted a complaint that did not contain his signature.
Signature requirement
The court relied on Rule 11(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Local Civil Rule 11.1(a), which require an unrepresented party to sign a pleading personally. The court explained that the required signature must be handwritten or otherwise personally placed on the document.
Order
The court directed Dunn to resubmit 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 was to issue at that time. If Dunn complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if he failed to comply within the time allowed, the action would be dismissed.
Appeal and service
Judge Colleen McMahon certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. The court therefore denied permission to appeal without paying the filing fees. The Clerk was directed to mail Dunn a copy of the order and note service on the docket.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.