Taboada v. United States
- Lewis Liman
- 1:22-cv-08141
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Taboada v. United States, Judge Liman ordered Ricardo Taboada to submit an original signature within 30 days or face dismissal.
Ricardo Taboada, the petitioner who filed the action without a lawyer; the United States was not required to answer at this time.
What happened
In Taboada v. United States, Ricardo Taboada filed a petition without signing it. He was representing himself rather than using a lawyer.
The court ordered Taboada to send back the petition’s signature page with an original handwritten signature within 30 days. The United States did not have to respond yet, and the case would proceed through the Clerk’s Office if he complied. If he did not comply on time, the action would be dismissed.
Judge Lewis J. Liman also ruled that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees.
The detailed version
- Taboada v. United States · No. 1:22-cv-08141
- Lewis Liman
- Sept. 29, 2022
Background
Ricardo Taboada brought the action without a lawyer. He submitted a petition that did not contain a signature.
Signature requirement
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a), along with the applicable local rule, requires an unrepresented party to personally sign a pleading or other court filing. The court explained that this requirement calls for a handwritten name or a handplaced mark.
Order
The court directed Taboada to resubmit the petition’s signature page with an original signature within 30 days of the order. The United States was not required to answer at that time. If Taboada complied, the Clerk’s Office would process the case under its usual procedures; if he failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
Appeal-related ruling
Judge Lewis J. Liman certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. The court therefore denied permission to appeal without paying the filing fees.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.