Kitchen v. New York City Housing Authority
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-02759
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Kitchen v. New York Housing Authority, Judge Swain ordered a signature correction before processing the pro se complaint.
William Kitchen, who must submit a properly signed signature page within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action.
What happened
In Kitchen v. New York Housing Authority, William Kitchen filed a complaint without signing it. The case names New York Housing Authority, Wells Fargo Bank, the New York City Police Department, and former Mayor Bill de Blasio as defendants.
The court explained that an unrepresented party must personally sign a complaint. Kitchen did not use a handwritten, digital, or typed “/s/” signature.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered Kitchen to submit a properly signed signature page within 30 days. No summons will issue now, and the action will be dismissed if he does not comply; the court also denied fee-free status for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Kitchen v. New York City Housing Authority · No. 1:23-cv-02759
- Laura Swain
- Apr. 5, 2023
Background
William Kitchen brought this action without a lawyer. The complaint identified New York Housing Authority, Wells Fargo Bank, the New York City Police Department, and former Mayor Bill de Blasio as defendants. Kitchen submitted the complaint without a signature.
Signature requirement
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a) and Local Civil Rule 11.1(a) require an unrepresented party to sign a pleading personally. The court explained that an acceptable signature must be handwritten or another permitted form of an original signature. Under the court’s temporary rules for filings sent by email, a pro se party may sign by hand and scan the document, use a digital signature, or type “/s/Filer’s Name.” Kitchen used none of these methods.
Order and effect
The court directed Kitchen to resubmit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature within 30 days of the order. No summons will issue at this time. If Kitchen complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case under its ordinary procedures. If he does not comply within the permitted period, the action will be dismissed.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal.
Classification
This is a procedural order addressing a filing requirement, not a decision on the underlying claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.