Adams v. The Co Op City Department of Public Safety
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:21-cv-02675
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Adams v. Co-Op City Police Department, Chief Judge McMahon ordered a signature and payment or updated fee-waiver application within 30 days.
Edward Adams was required to correct the missing signature and address the filing-fee issue before the action could proceed. The defendants were not served with a summons at this stage.
What happened
In Edward Adams v. Co-Op City Police Department, Adams filed a civil action without a handwritten signature and asked to proceed without paying filing fees upfront.
The court said Adams had to verify that he brought the case by signing and returning a declaration. The court also found that his fee-waiver application did not provide enough information about his income, expenses, assets, or support.
Within 30 days, Adams had to submit the signed declaration and either pay $402 or file a complete amended fee-waiver application, Judge Colleen McMahon ordered. No summons would issue yet, and the court said it would dismiss the action if Adams did not comply.
The detailed version
- Adams v. The Co Op City Department of Public Safety · No. 1:21-cv-02675
- Colleen McMahon
- Mar. 31, 2021
Background
Edward Adams brought this action without a lawyer. He submitted a complaint without a handwritten signature and filed an application to proceed without prepaying filing fees. The opinion says his application answered the questions about his finances with “0” or “N/A” and did not provide enough information about his employment, income, expenses, or assets.
Court’s analysis
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a) requires an unrepresented party to personally sign a pleading. The court directed Adams to complete, sign, and submit an attached declaration stating that he was the person bringing the action.
The court also explained that filing a civil action required either payment of $402—consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $52 administrative fee—or an application to proceed without prepaying those fees. Because Adams’s application did not establish that he was unable to pay, the court required him to provide more complete financial information in an amended application. The amended application had to answer every question, identify all income sources and monthly expenses, and explain how Adams supported himself.
Order and effect
Judge Colleen McMahon ordered Adams, within 30 days of the order’s date, to submit the signed declaration and either pay the $402 in fees or submit an amended application. If the court granted the amended application, Adams could proceed without prepaying the fees. If he did not comply within the time allowed, the court said it would dismiss the action. The clerk was directed to mail the order to Adams and record service, and no summons would issue at that time. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.