Lewis v. The City of New York
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-05822
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Lewis v. The City of New York, Judge Swain ordered a handwritten signature within 30 days before the case could proceed.
Robert Lewis and the City of New York; the order determines whether the unsigned complaint can proceed.
What happened
In Lewis v. The City of New York, Robert Lewis filed a complaint against the City of New York without signing it. The order addressed only that missing signature, not the allegations in the complaint.
The court directed Lewis to resubmit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature within 30 days. No summons would issue while the order remained unresolved.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain said the case would be processed if Lewis complied, but the action would be dismissed if he did not. She also denied fee-free appeal status for any appeal from the order.
The detailed version
- Lewis v. The City of New York · No. 1:23-cv-05822
- Laura Swain
- July 12, 2023
Background
Robert Lewis brought this action without a lawyer. He submitted a complaint that did not include his signature. The opinion’s text also includes allegations that the City of New York and city agencies damaged or threatened to demolish a property façade, imposed fines and expenses, and violated constitutional rights. The court did not decide those allegations in this order.
Signature Requirement
The court cited Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a) and Local Civil Rule 11.1(a), which require an unrepresented party to sign a pleading personally. The court explained that the required signature must be handwritten or a handwritten mark.
Ruling and Effect
The court directed Lewis 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 Lewis complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
The court also certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free appeal status for that purpose.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.