Gutierrez v. Commissioner of Social Security
- James Oetken
- 1:21-cv-03211
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Gutierrez v. Commissioner of Social Security, Judge Swain ordered Ricardo Gutierrez to file an original signature within 30 days.
Ricardo Gutierrez, the self-represented plaintiff; the case’s processing depended on his filing an original signature within 30 days.
What happened
In Gutierrez v. Commissioner of Social Security, Ricardo Gutierrez filed the complaint without signing it. He was representing himself.
The court ordered him to resubmit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature within 30 days. The clerk was directed to mail him the order, and no summons would be issued yet.
Judge Swain stated that the case would proceed if Gutierrez complied, but would be dismissed if he did not. The court also denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Gutierrez v. Commissioner of Social Security · No. 1:21-cv-03211
- James Oetken
- Apr. 15, 2021
Background
Ricardo Gutierrez brought this Social Security action without a lawyer. He submitted the complaint without a signature.
Signature Requirement
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a) requires a self-represented party to personally sign a pleading, written motion, or other court paper. The court explained that the signature must be an original handwritten signature or a hand-placed mark. It directed Gutierrez to resubmit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature within 30 days of the order.
Ruling and Next Steps
The court directed the clerk to mail the order to Gutierrez and record service on the docket. It ordered that no summons issue at that time. The court stated that the action would be processed under the clerk’s procedures if Gutierrez complied and would be dismissed if he failed to comply within the allowed time. Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.