Antrobus v. New York City
- Laura Swain
- 1:22-cv-08822
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Antrobus v. New York City, Judge Swain ordered the unrepresented plaintiff to submit an original complaint signature within 30 days or face dismissal.
Andre Antrobus, who must provide an original signature for the complaint within 30 days for the case to be processed.
What happened
In Antrobus v. New York City, Andre Antrobus filed a complaint without signing it. The court explained that court rules require an unrepresented party to personally sign a complaint.
The court ordered Antrobus to send an original signature page within 30 days. No summons would issue for now; if he complied, the clerk’s office would process the case, but if he did not, the action would be dismissed.
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying court fees.
The detailed version
- Antrobus v. New York City · No. 1:22-cv-08822
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 14, 2023
Background
Andre Antrobus brought the action without a lawyer. He submitted the complaint without a signature.
Court’s Analysis
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a) and Local Civil Rule 11.1(a) require a pleading, including a complaint, to be signed by an attorney or, when a party is unrepresented, by that party personally. The court stated that this requirement calls for a handwritten name or a handplaced mark.
Order
The court directed Antrobus to submit a signature page bearing an original signature within 30 days of the order. The court ordered that no summons issue at that time. If Antrobus 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.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied permission to appeal without prepaying court fees.
Judge
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order on March 14, 2023.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.