Lewis v. State Farm

Background

Regina Lewis filed this action without a lawyer and sought permission to proceed without paying the filing fee. The opinion states that an earlier order barred Lewis from filing future civil actions in the Southern District of New York without first obtaining permission from the court. That earlier order required her to attach her proposed complaint and a copy of the earlier order to any request for permission.

Lewis submitted a motion for permission to file the complaint and an application to proceed without paying the fee. Both were signed. The complaint itself, however, was not signed. The attached one-page complaint alleges that a 2020 Jeep Grand Cherokee was involved in two accidents, that it unexpectedly accelerated, that its steering became inoperable, and that the vehicle continued to rev or try to move after Lewis left it. The complaint also refers to a steering-related vehicle recall and states that Mr. Owens did not maintain the vehicle.

Reason for the Order

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a) requires a pleading, such as a complaint, to be signed by the party personally when the party has no lawyer. The court also cited the Southern District of New York's local signature rule and explained that the required signature must be handwritten or otherwise placed by hand.

Ruling and Effect

The court directed Lewis to resubmit the one-page complaint with an original signature within 30 days of the order. No summons would issue at that time. If Lewis 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 under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order as Chief United States District Judge.