Antrobus v. New York City
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-09138
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Antrobus v. New York City, Chief Judge Swain ordered the unrepresented plaintiff to submit an original signature within 30 days or face dismissal.
Andre Antrobus and the further processing of his action against New York City and the other named defendants.
What happened
In Antrobus v. New York City, Andre Antrobus filed a lawsuit without a lawyer, but the complaint did not include a signature.
The court ordered Antrobus to resubmit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature within 30 days. No summons would issue while the signature problem remained unresolved.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain said the case would be processed if Antrobus complied and would be dismissed if he did not. She also denied the right to proceed without paying appeal fees because an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Antrobus v. New York City · No. 1:22-cv-09138
- Laura Swain
- Oct. 26, 2022
Background
Andre Antrobus brought the action without a lawyer. The complaint submitted to the court was unsigned.
Signature Requirement
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a) and Southern District of New York Local Civil Rule 11.1(a) require a party who is not represented by a lawyer to personally sign a pleading. The court explained that the required signature must be handwritten or otherwise physically placed on the document.
Order
The court directed Antrobus to resubmit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature within 30 days of the order. No summons would issue at that time. If Antrobus complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he failed to comply within the allowed period, the action would be dismissed.
Appeal Fee Status
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied Antrobus permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
Disposition
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered Antrobus to provide the original signature within 30 days and stated that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply. The order did not itself dismiss the action.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.