Mercer v. New York City Housing Authority ( 2022 )

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT D ELO EC CU TM RE ON NT IC ALLY FILED SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK DOC #: _________________ DATE FILED: 2/25/2022 ROBERT MERCER, Plaintiff, 1:21-cv-10503-GHW -against- ORDER NEW YORK CITY HOUSING AUTHORITY, Defendant. GREGORY H. WOODS, United States District Judge: Plaintiff brings this action pro se. Plaintiff submitted the amended complaint without a signature. Dkt. No. 8. Rule 11(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that “[e]very pleading, written motion, and other paper must be signed by at least one attorney of record in the attorney’s name – or by a party personally if the party is unrepresented.” See also Local Civil Rule 11.1(a). The Supreme Court has interpreted Rule 11(a) to require “as it did in John Hancock’s day, a name handwritten (or a mark handplaced).” Becker v. Montgomery, 532 U.S. 757, 764 (2001). In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, pursuant to the April 1, 2020 Addendum to Electronic Case Filing Rules & Instructions regarding Temporary Acceptance of Pro Se Filings by Email, a pro se party who files a document by email must sign the document by either: “(a) signing by hand and then scanning the document; (b) signing electronically using a digital signature; or (c) by typing: /s/Filer’s Name.” Here, Plaintiff submitted the amended complaint without a signature. Plaintiff 1s therefore directed to resubmit the amended complaint with a signature and the date to the Court within 14 days of the date of this order. The Court does not take any position as to the sufficiency of Plaintiff's amended complaint. The Clerk of Court is directed to mail of a copy of this Order by first class mail to Plaintiff. SO ORDERED. Dated: February 25, 2022 New York, New York