Blackwood v. 2 Security Guards at Food Bizar
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-03447
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Blackwood v. 2 Security Guards at Food Bizar, Judge Swain ordered Blackwood to submit a proper fee authorization and original complaint signature within 30 days.
Phillip Blackwood and the continued processing of his civil action.
What happened
In Blackwood v. 2 Security Guards at Food Bizar, Phillip Blackwood, who was detained before trial and represented himself, filed a civil action but submitted an incomplete prisoner authorization and an unsigned complaint.
The court ordered Blackwood, within 30 days, either to pay the required fees or submit a completed authorization allowing installment payments from his account, and to resubmit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature. No summons would issue at that time.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain said the case would proceed through the Clerk’s Office if Blackwood complied, but the action would be dismissed if he did not. She also denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for any appeal from the order.
The detailed version
- Blackwood v. 2 Security Guards at Food Bizar · No. 1:22-cv-03447
- Laura Swain
- Apr. 29, 2022
Background
Phillip Blackwood, who was in pretrial detention at Westchester County Jail, brought this civil action without a lawyer. He submitted an application to proceed without prepaying filing fees and a prisoner authorization, but the authorization did not state the amount to be collected from his account. He also submitted the complaint without a signature.
Prisoner authorization
The court explained that a prisoner who seeks permission to proceed without prepaying fees must submit a signed application and a prisoner authorization. If permission is granted, the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires collection of the $350 filing fee in installments from the prisoner’s account. The court directed Blackwood, within 30 days of the order, either to pay $402 in fees or complete and submit the attached prisoner authorization, labeled with docket number 22-CV-3447 (LTS).
Original signature
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a) and the applicable local rule require an unrepresented party to sign a pleading. The court directed Blackwood to resubmit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature within 30 days.
Disposition
The court stated that the case would be processed through the Clerk’s Office if Blackwood complied. If he failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed. The court ordered that no summons issue at that time. It also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.