Koumba v. Immigration in New York
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-03403
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Koumba v. Immigration in New York, Judge Swain ordered a pro se plaintiff to submit original signatures within 30 days or face dismissal.
Rodriguez Koumba, the unrepresented plaintiff, was required to provide original signatures and could face dismissal if the deadline was missed. The action’s processing and issuance of a summons were also paused.
What happened
In Rodriguez Koumba v. Immigration in New York, the plaintiff filed a complaint and an application to proceed without paying filing fees, but neither document included a signature. The plaintiff was representing themself.
The court ordered Rodriguez Koumba to resubmit the signature pages with original signatures within 30 days. The court also directed that no summons issue for now and stated that the case would be processed if the plaintiff complied; otherwise, the action would be dismissed.
Judge Swain also ruled that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Koumba v. Immigration in New York · No. 1:22-cv-03403
- Laura Swain
- Apr. 28, 2022
Background
Rodriguez Koumba brought this action without a lawyer. The complaint and the application to proceed without prepayment of fees were submitted without signatures.
Court’s Analysis
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a) and the Southern District of New York’s Local Civil Rule 11.1(a) require an unrepresented party to personally sign pleadings and other court papers. The court explained that this requirement calls for a handwritten signature or a mark placed by hand.
Order
The court directed Rodriguez Koumba to resubmit the signature page of the complaint and the fee-waiver application with an original signature within 30 days of the order. No summons would issue at that time. If Rodriguez Koumba complied, the Clerk’s Office would process the case under its procedures. If Rodriguez Koumba did not comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.