Posley v. New York City
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-05819
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 9
In Posley v. New York City, Judge Swain ordered an original signature within 30 days or the action would be dismissed without prejudice.
Naquan Posley, who was required to provide an original signature for his action to proceed; New York City and the New York City Department of Corrections were the named defendants.
What happened
Naquan Posley sued New York City and the New York City Department of Corrections while representing himself. He submitted a complaint without signing it, and the court noted that the complaint appeared to be written in another detainee’s handwriting.
The court ordered Posley to return the complaint’s signature page with an original signature within 30 days. It did not issue a summons while awaiting compliance, and the opinion did not decide the underlying claims.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain stated that the case would proceed through the Clerk’s Office if Posley complied. If he did not comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed without prejudice; the court also denied permission to appeal without paying the required fee.
The detailed version
- Posley v. New York City · No. 1:22-cv-05819
- Laura Swain
- July 8, 2022
Background
Naquan Posley, who was detained at the Anna M. Kross Center, filed this action without a lawyer against New York City and the New York City Department of Corrections. The complaint did not contain Posley’s signature. The court also noted that the complaint repeatedly referred to Andre Antrobus, another detainee, and appeared to have been written in Antrobus’s distinctive handwriting. The court said it was therefore particularly important to confirm that Posley intended to file the action and understood the consequences of doing so.
Court’s Analysis
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a) requires an unrepresented party to personally sign a pleading, motion, or other court paper. The court also cited Local Civil Rule 11.1(a) and explained that the required signature must be handwritten or another personally placed mark. The court did not address the substance of Posley’s claims.
Order and Effect
The court directed Posley to resubmit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature within 30 days of the order. A copy of the unsigned complaint, including its signature page, was attached to the order. No summons would issue at that time. If Posley complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office’s procedures. If he failed to comply within the allowed period, the action would be dismissed without prejudice, meaning the order did not bar a later filing based solely on that dismissal. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying the required fee. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
Read the full 9-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.