Hankerson v. 125 Worth St. Department of Health Vital Records
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-01148
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Hankerson v. 125 Worth St., Chief Judge Swain ordered Hankerson to submit a signed fee-waiver application within 30 days.
Theresa Hankerson must provide an original signature on her fee-waiver application within 30 days to avoid dismissal of the action. The defendant is not affected by a merits ruling because the court did not address the claims.
What happened
In Hankerson v. 125 Worth St. Department of Health Vital Records New York, Theresa Hankerson brought the case without a lawyer and submitted an application to waive the filing fee without a signature.
The court ordered Hankerson to resubmit the application’s signature page with an original signature within 30 days. The court said no summons would issue yet, and that the case would proceed through the Clerk’s Office if she complied.
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain warned that the action would be dismissed if Hankerson did not comply. Judge Swain also denied fee-waiver status for any appeal and certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Hankerson v. 125 Worth St. Department of Health Vital Records · No. 1:24-cv-01148
- Laura Swain
- Feb. 21, 2024
Background
Theresa Hankerson brought the action without a lawyer. She submitted an application to proceed without prepaying court fees, but the application was unsigned.
Court’s reasoning
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a) and Local Civil Rule 11.1(a) require an unrepresented party to sign each pleading, written motion, and other paper personally. The court explained that this requirement calls for a handwritten signature or a mark placed by hand.
Order
The court directed Hankerson to resubmit the signature page of her fee-waiver application with an original signature within 30 days of the order. The court stated that no summons would issue at that time. If Hankerson complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if she did not comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-waiver status for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.