Jimenez v. Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of New York
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-00077
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Jimenez v. Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of New York, Judge Swain ordered an unsigned complaint and fee-waiver application to be resubmitted.
Itzia G. Jimenez, whose unsigned complaint and fee application must be resubmitted with original signatures for the case to proceed.
What happened
In Jimenez v. Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of New York, Itzia G. Jimenez brought the action without a lawyer and submitted a complaint and an application to proceed without paying filing fees, but neither document was signed.
The court explained that federal and local rules require an unrepresented party to sign court filings personally. It directed Jimenez to send original signature pages for both documents within 30 days of the order.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that no summons issue yet. If Jimenez complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case; if she does not, the action will be dismissed. The court also denied fee-waiver status for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Jimenez v. Catholic Schools in the Archdiocese of New York · No. 1:24-cv-00077
- Laura Swain
- Jan. 5, 2024
Background
Itzia G. Jimenez brought this action without a lawyer. She submitted a complaint and an application to proceed without prepaying court fees, but neither submission contained a signature.
Court’s Analysis
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a) and Local Civil Rule 11.1(a) require an unrepresented party to personally sign a pleading, motion, or other court paper. The court cited the Supreme Court’s interpretation of that requirement as calling for a handwritten or otherwise physically placed name or mark.
Order
The court directed Jimenez to resubmit the signature page of the complaint and the signature page of the fee application with original signatures within 30 days of January 5, 2024. The court stated that no summons would issue at that time. If Jimenez complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If she failed to comply within the allowed period, the action would be dismissed.
The court also certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal. This order addressed filing requirements and did not decide the underlying claims.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.