Brennen v. Griffin

• Court: District Court, S.D. New York
• Decided: April 28, 2025
• Docket: 1:25-cv-03464
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK MARK BRENNEN; CHRISTINA BRENNEN, Plaintiffs, 25-CV-3464 (LTS) -against- ORDER DIRECTING PAYMENT OF FEE OR IFP APPLICATION DESMARIE GRIFFEN LANDLORD, AND SIGNATURE Defendant. LAURA TAYLOR SWAIN, Chief United States District Judge: Plaintiffs Mark Brennen and Christina Brennen bring this action pro se. As set forth below, the Court directs Plaintiff Christina Brennen (1) to either pay the $405.00 in fees necessary to initiate this action or submit an application to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”); and (2) to submit a signed signature page of the complaint. DISCUSSION A. Fees To proceed with a civil action in this court, a plaintiff must either pay $405.00 in fees – a $350.00 filing fee plus a $55.00 administrative fee – or, to request authorization to proceed without prepayment of fees, submit a signed IFP application. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914, 1915. Plaintiffs jointly submitted the complaint, but only Mark Brennen submitted an IFP application. Within thirty days of the date of this order, Christina Brennen must either pay the $405.00 in fees or submit the attached IFP application. If Christina Brennen submits the IFP application, it should be labeled with docket number 25-CV-3464. If the Court grants the IFP application, Christina Brennen will be permitted to proceed without prepayment of fees. See 28

U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1). B. Signature Only Mark Brennen signed the complaint. Rule 11(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that “[e]very pleading, written motion, and other paper must be signed . . . by a party personally if the party is unrepresented.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(a); see Becker v. Montgomery, 532 U.S. 757, 764 (2001) (interpreting Rule 11(a) to require, “as it did in John Hancock’s day, a name handwritten (or a mark handplaced)”).1

Christina Brennen is directed to sign and submit the attached signature page within 30 days of the date of this order. If Christina Brennen returns the signed document by mail or in person, it must have a handwritten signature that complies with Rule 11(a). If Christina Brennen submits the document by email, to ProSe@nysd.uscourts.gov, she may use instead an electronic signature or a typed name with /s/ (“/s/Christina Brennen”) on the signature line. The signed document must be labeled with the docket number 25-CV-3464 (LTS).2 CONCLUSION No summons or answer shall issue at this time. If Christina Brennen complies with this order, the case shall be processed in accordance with the procedures of the Clerk’s Office. If

Christina Brennen fails to comply with this order within the time allowed, the action will proceed with Mark Brennen as the sole plaintiff.

1 Although a “typed name” does not satisfy Rule 11(a)’s signature requirement, the Supreme Court affirmed the right of courts “by local rule [to] permit papers to be filed, signed, or verified by electronic means.” Becker, 532 U.S. at 764. Under this court’s local rules, where a document is filed in accordance with the SDNY Electronic Case Filing (“ECF”) Rules & Instructions (“ECF Rules”), the filing complies with the local rules. See Local Civil Rule 5.2. Rule 1.1 and Appendix C of the ECF Rules authorize self-represented parties to sign documents submitted to the court by email using an electronic signature or typed name with /s. 2 For registered ECF filers, “[t]he user log-in and password required to submit documents to the ECF system serve as the Filing User’s signature on all electronic documents filed with the Court.” Rule 8.1 of the ECF Rules. Self-represented litigants must request permission to register for ECF by filing a Motion for Permission for Electronic Case Filing. The Court certifies under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith, and therefore in forma pauperis status is denied for the purpose of an appeal. Cf. Coppedge v. United States, 369 U.S. 438, 444–45 (1962) (holding that appellant demonstrates good faith when seeking review of a nonfrivolous issue).

SO ORDERED. Dated: April 28, 2025 New York, New York

/s/ Laura Taylor Swain LAURA TAYLOR SWAIN Chief United States District Judge