Thompson v. Sullivan Correctional Facility
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-03720
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Thompson v. Sullivan Correctional Facility, Judge Swain ordered the pro se plaintiff to complete and sign his incomplete complaint within 30 days.
Tykhan Thompson, who must complete and sign the complaint within 30 days to continue the action; the defendants are not yet required to respond because no summons has issued.
What happened
In Thompson v. Sullivan Correctional Facility, Tykhan Thompson filed a lawsuit without a lawyer, but the complaint transferred to this court contained only the first two pages of the form and was unsigned.
The court ordered Thompson to complete and sign the complaint and return it within 30 days. No summons will issue yet, and the action will be dismissed if he does not comply.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied fee-waiver status for an appeal, finding that any appeal would not be taken in good faith. The order did not decide the claims against the defendants.
The detailed version
- Thompson v. Sullivan Correctional Facility · No. 1:24-cv-03720
- Laura Swain
- May 17, 2024
Background
Tykhan Thompson brought the action without a lawyer in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. That court transferred the case to the Southern District of New York. The complaint submitted to the court contained only the first two pages of the complaint form and did not include Thompson’s signature.
Court’s reasoning
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a) and Local Civil Rule 11.1(a) require a party without a lawyer to sign pleadings and other court papers personally. The court cited Supreme Court precedent stating that the signature requirement calls for a handwritten name or a mark placed by hand.
Order
The court directed Thompson to complete and sign the complaint form and resubmit it within 30 days of the order. The submission had to be mailed to the Southern District of New York and labeled with docket number 24-CV-3720 (LTS). No summons would issue at that time. If Thompson complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures; if he 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. The order did not reach the merits of Thompson’s claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.