Lu v. Hermans
- Nelson Roman
- 7:24-cv-01023
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Lu v. Hermans, Judge Swain ordered Jianqiao Lu to submit handwritten signatures on three filings within 30 days.
Jianqiao Lu, whose complaint and related filings must be resubmitted with handwritten signatures; the action may be dismissed if Lu does not comply within 30 days.
What happened
In Lu v. Hermans, Jianqiao Lu filed the complaint, an application to proceed without paying filing fees, and a prisoner authorization without handwritten signatures. The court said the typed “/s/” signatures were not allowed because Lu did not file the documents electronically.
The court ordered Lu to resubmit signature pages bearing handwritten signatures within 30 days. It did not issue summonses while waiting for compliance, and said the case would proceed through the Clerk’s Office if Lu complied.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also stated that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for an appeal. The order warned that the action will be dismissed if Lu does not comply within the allowed time.
The detailed version
- Lu v. Hermans · No. 7:24-cv-01023
- Nelson Roman
- Feb. 14, 2024
Background
Jianqiao Lu brought the action without a lawyer. Lu submitted the complaint, an application to proceed without paying court fees, and a prisoner authorization. Each document included a typed “/s/” signature but no handwritten 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 pleadings and other papers. The court explained that a valid signature must be handwritten or a mark placed by hand. The court also explained that the electronic-filing rule allowing an “/S/” signature did not apply because Lu had not filed the documents electronically.
Order and Effect
The court directed Lu to submit the signature page for each of the three documents with a handwritten signature within 30 days of the order. No summons was to issue at that time. If Lu complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if Lu failed to comply within the time allowed, the action would be dismissed.
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for purposes of an appeal. This order addressed filing requirements and did not decide the underlying claims.
Classification
This is a procedural order because it addressed signature and filing requirements without deciding the merits of the action.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.