Gordon v. Gordon

• Court: District Court, S.D. New York
• Decided: September 17, 2024
• Docket: 1:24-cv-06971
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK CATHINE GORDON, Plaintiff, 24-CV-6971 (LTS) -against- ORDER DIRECTING PAYMENT OF FEE OR IFP APPLICATION AND SIGNATURE ARNOLD GORDON, ET AL., Defendants. LAURA TAYLOR SWAIN, Chief United States District Judge: This action was submitted to the court by email and has been assigned the docket number listed above. To proceed with a civil action, a plaintiff must either pay the $405.00 in fees or, to request authorization to proceed without prepayment of fees, submit a signed in forma pauperis (“IFP”) application. See 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914, 1915.1 Within 30 days of the date of this order, Plaintiff must either pay the $405.00 in fees or, if Plaintiff is unable to pay such fees, Plaintiff should complete, sign, and submit the attached IFP application.2 Payment of the fees should be mailed to the following address: United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Cashiers-Room 260, 500 Pearl Street, New York, NY 10007. Payment of the fees by mail must (1) be made by money order or certified check; (2) be made payable to: Clerk, USDC, SDNY; and (3) include the docket number listed above. Personal checks are not accepted. Payment of the fees also can be made in person at the courthouse by credit card, money order, certified check, or cash.

1 The $405.00 in fees includes a $350.00 filing fee plus a $55.00 administrative fee. (Please check the fee schedule on the website for any updates.) A defendant removing an action from state to federal court is responsible for the filing fees.) 2 If more than one plaintiff has joined in this action, and if all of the plaintiffs seek to proceed IFP, each of the plaintiffs must complete, sign, and submit a separate IFP application. In addition, the complaint that Plaintiff submitted is unsigned. 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)”).3

Plaintiff is directed to sign and submit the attached the attached "Plaintiff's Certification and Warnings" within 30 days of the date of this order. If Plaintiff returns the signed document by mail or in person, it must have a handwritten signature that complies with Rule 11(a). If Plaintiff submits the document by email, to ProSe@nysd.uscourts.gov, Plaintiff may use instead an electronic signature or a typed name with /s/ (“/s/ Cathine Gordon”) on the signature line. The signed document must be labeled with the docket number 24-CV-6971 (LTS).4 No summons or answer shall issue at this time. If Plaintiff complies with this order, the case shall be processed in accordance with the procedures of the Clerk’s Office. If the Court grants the IFP application, Plaintiff will be permitted to proceed without prepayment of fees. See

28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(1). If Plaintiff submitted proper payment for this action before receiving this order, the case will proceed once that payment is processed. If Plaintiff fails to comply with this order within the time allowed, the action will be dismissed without prejudice to refiling.

3 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. 4 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 IFP 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: September 17, 2024 New York, New York

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