Watson v. Miller
- Andrew Carter
- 1:23-cv-08356
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Watson v. Miller, Judge Swain ordered pro se petitioner Shalik Watson to submit an original signature within 30 days or face dismissal.
Shalik Watson must provide an original signature on the petition’s signature page within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action. Mark Miller was not required to answer at that time.
What happened
In Watson v. Miller, Shalik Watson filed a petition without the handwritten signature required for an unrepresented party. The court directed him to send the petition’s signature page with an original signature within 30 days.
The court said Mark Miller did not need to answer at that time. If Watson submits the signature page on time, the Clerk’s Office will process the case; if he does not, the action will be dismissed.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees.
The detailed version
- Watson v. Miller · No. 1:23-cv-08356
- Andrew Carter
- Sept. 21, 2023
Background
Shalik Watson brought the action without a lawyer and submitted a petition without a signature. The opinion cites Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a) and Local Civil Rule 11.1(a), which require an unrepresented party to sign a pleading or other court filing personally. The court explained that this requires a handwritten name or a mark placed by hand.
Order
The court directed Watson to resubmit the petition’s signature page with an original signature within 30 days of the order. A copy of the signature page was attached to the order. The court stated that no answer from Mark Miller was required at that time. If Watson complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case under its procedures. If he does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed.
Appeal-fee ruling
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 permission to appeal without paying the required filing fees.
Result
The court issued an order requiring an original signature; it did not decide the underlying petition. The opinion is signed by Laura Taylor Swain, Chief United States District Judge.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.