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 City Housing Authority, Judge Swain ordered notice about the missing signature and allowed possible reopening after compliance.
William Kitchen and the status of his action; the action could be reopened if he timely provides the required original signature.
What happened
In Kitchen v. New York City Housing Authority, William Kitchen filed a complaint without a signature and did not submit an original signature within the deadline set by the court. The court dismissed the action without prejudice and entered judgment.
Kitchen later reported that his mail was being tampered with and that he had not received documents since April. He asked the court to use his post-office box, which was listed as his address of record.
Judge Swain directed the Clerk of Court to mail Kitchen the earlier order and signature page. The action will be reopened for further proceedings if Kitchen submits the required original signature within 30 days; otherwise, it will remain closed. The court also denied fee-free status for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Kitchen v. New York City Housing Authority · No. 1:23-cv-02759
- Laura Swain
- June 15, 2023
Background
William Kitchen brought the action without a lawyer. The complaint did not include his signature. By order dated April 5, 2023, the court directed him to resubmit the complaint's signature page with an original signature within 30 days and stated that the action would be dismissed if he did not comply.
Kitchen did not resubmit the complaint with an original signature. By order dated May 23, 2023, the court dismissed the action without prejudice, meaning the dismissal did not itself bar a later filing or other permitted step. Judgment was entered the same day.
Later Submission
On June 12, 2023, Kitchen filed a submission through the court's email-filing procedures for people representing themselves. He stated that his mail was being tampered with and that he had not received documents since April. He asked the court to use his post-office box, which he had provided to the court and which was listed as his address of record.
Court's Action
The court directed the Clerk of Court to mail Kitchen a copy of the court's order directing him to provide an original signature, along with the signature page, at his address of record. The court stated that if Kitchen complied with that order within 30 days of this order, it would reopen the action for further proceedings. If he failed to comply within 30 days, the action would remain closed.
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. This order did not decide the underlying claims against any defendant.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.