Gross v. The City of New York
- Robert Lehrburger
- 1:20-cv-04340
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Gross v. The City of New York, Judge McMahon ordered the unrepresented plaintiff to submit an original signature within 30 days.
Abraham Gross, who was required to submit an original signature for his complaint within 30 days; the action could be dismissed if he failed to do so.
What happened
Gross v. The City of New York was filed by Abraham Gross, who was representing himself. He submitted a complaint without an original handwritten signature.
The court required Gross to sign and return an attached declaration form for his complaint within 30 days. The Clerk was ordered to mail him the order, and no summons would issue at that time.
Judge Colleen McMahon said the case would proceed if Gross complied, but would be dismissed if he did not. She also denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Gross v. The City of New York · No. 1:20-cv-04340
- Robert Lehrburger
- June 22, 2020
Background
Abraham Gross brought the action without a lawyer. His complaint did not contain an original signature. The opinion cites Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a) and Local Civil Rule 11.1(a), which require a party who is not represented by a lawyer to sign a pleading personally. The court explained that the signature must be handwritten or otherwise placed by the signer.
Order
The court directed Gross to sign and submit the attached declaration form for his complaint within 30 days of the order. The Clerk of Court was directed to mail him a copy of the order and record service on the docket. No summons was to issue at that time.
If Gross complied, the case was to be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he failed to comply within the allowed period, the action would be dismissed. The order itself did not dismiss the action.
Appeal-fee ruling
Judge Colleen McMahon certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. The court therefore denied permission to appeal without paying the filing fee. The opinion does not address the underlying claims in the complaint.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.