Jean-Louis v. Fountain House
- Valerie Caproni
- 1:23-cv-03891
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Jean-Louis v. Fountain House, Magistrate Judge Moses granted Jean-Louis’s request to refile a signed reply brief as a PDF by October 25, 2023.
The order directly affected plaintiff Marise L. Jean-Louis’s reply-brief filing and addressed whether S. Mescall could represent her before the court.
What happened
In Jean-Louis v. Fountain House, Marise L. Jean-Louis asked to resubmit her reply brief in an acceptable PDF format after an unsigned Word-format version was filed.
The court granted the request. Jean-Louis must file a signed PDF copy by October 25, 2023, without making any other changes; the new filing will replace the earlier version and will be treated as timely if filed by that date.
Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses also stated that S. Mescall could appear for Jean-Louis only if admitted to practice before the court. The order explained that an unlicensed person may represent only themselves, not another person.
The detailed version
- Jean-Louis v. Fountain House · No. 1:23-cv-03891
- Valerie Caproni
- Oct. 20, 2023
Background
The court reviewed Marise L. Jean-Louis’s October 18, 2023 letter asking for permission to resubmit her reply brief in an acceptable PDF format. The docket contained an unsigned reply brief in Word format.
Order
The court granted Jean-Louis’s application. It ordered her to refile a signed copy of the reply brief in PDF format no later than October 25, 2023. The court prohibited other changes to the reply brief. The replacement filing would replace the unsigned Word-format brief at Docket 28 and would be considered timely if filed by the deadline.
Representation issue
The court noted that Jean-Louis’s letter was co-signed by S. Mescall, described as Jean-Louis’s “Amicus Curiae Friend.” The court stated that, if S. Mescall is an attorney admitted to practice before the court, S. Mescall may enter an appearance on Jean-Louis’s behalf. It explained that federal law allows parties to conduct their own cases personally or through counsel, but does not allow an unlicensed layperson to represent anyone other than themselves.
Disposition and classification
This was a procedural order about the format and filing of a brief and the possible appearance of another person on Jean-Louis’s behalf. It did not decide the underlying claims against Fountain House. Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses issued the order.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.