Lewis v. The City of New York
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-05822
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Lewis v. The City of New York, Judge Swain granted reconsideration, reopened the case, and denied an appeal-extension request as moot.
Robert Lewis’s case against The City of New York was reopened, but Lewis was required to submit an originally signed complaint page within thirty days or the action would be dismissed.
What happened
In Lewis v. The City of New York, Robert Lewis filed the case without a lawyer, but his complaint lacked a signature. The court ordered him to submit a signed signature page, but mailed orders were returned as undeliverable. The court later dismissed the case without prejudice when he did not comply.
Lewis then told the court that he had not received the order and asked for reconsideration, more time to appeal, and other relief. The court granted reconsideration, vacated the dismissal and civil judgment, and directed the Clerk of Court to reopen the case.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain gave Lewis thirty days to submit the signed complaint page. The court denied his request for more time to appeal as moot, issued no summons, and stated that the case would be dismissed if he did not comply.
The detailed version
- Lewis v. The City of New York · No. 1:23-cv-05822
- Laura Swain
- Jan. 16, 2024
Background
Robert Lewis filed this action without a lawyer and submitted a complaint that did not contain a signature. On July 12, 2023, the court ordered him to resubmit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature within thirty days. The Clerk of Court mailed that order to Lewis, but the mail was returned as undeliverable. The Clerk remailed the order, and that mailing was also returned.
On October 30, 2023, the court dismissed the action without prejudice because Lewis had not complied with the July 12 order. The court also entered a civil judgment. On November 27, 2023, Lewis filed a consent to electronic service, a request for more time to file a notice of appeal, a letter stating that he had not received the July 12 order, a motion for reconsideration, and a supporting declaration.
Rulings
The court granted Lewis’s motion for reconsideration. It vacated the October 30 order of dismissal and the civil judgment and directed the Clerk of Court to reopen the case. The court gave Lewis thirty days from the date of the order to submit the complaint’s signature page with an original signature, labeled with docket number 23-CV-5822.
The court denied Lewis’s request for an extension of time to file a notice of appeal as moot. It stated that no summons would issue at that time. If Lewis complied with the order, the case would proceed 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 an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for purposes of an appeal.
Effect of the Order
Judge Laura Taylor Swain’s order addressed the case’s filing and procedural status; it did not decide the underlying claims described in the complaint. The case was reopened, subject to Lewis submitting the required signed page within thirty days.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.