Filed: Dec. 07, 2018
Latest Update: Dec. 07, 2018
Summary: ORDER KENDALL J. NEWMAN , Magistrate Judge . Plaintiff is a state prisoner, proceeding pro se, in this civil rights action for relief pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983. On November 28, 2018, plaintiff filed a reply to defendants' answer. However, plaintiff failed to sign his pleading. Parties proceeding without counsel are required to sign all pleadings, motions, and other papers submitted to the court for filing. Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(a). Ordinarily, the court is required to provide litigants an
Summary: ORDER KENDALL J. NEWMAN , Magistrate Judge . Plaintiff is a state prisoner, proceeding pro se, in this civil rights action for relief pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1983. On November 28, 2018, plaintiff filed a reply to defendants' answer. However, plaintiff failed to sign his pleading. Parties proceeding without counsel are required to sign all pleadings, motions, and other papers submitted to the court for filing. Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(a). Ordinarily, the court is required to provide litigants an o..
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ORDER
KENDALL J. NEWMAN, Magistrate Judge.
Plaintiff is a state prisoner, proceeding pro se, in this civil rights action for relief pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. On November 28, 2018, plaintiff filed a reply to defendants' answer. However, plaintiff failed to sign his pleading.
Parties proceeding without counsel are required to sign all pleadings, motions, and other papers submitted to the court for filing. Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(a). Ordinarily, the court is required to provide litigants an opportunity to promptly rectify such oversight. Here, however, plaintiff is attempting to file an improper pleading absent court order.
Rule 7(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides:
(a) Pleadings. Only these pleadings are allowed:
(1) a complaint;
(2) an answer to a complaint;
. . .
(7) if the court orders one, a reply to an answer.
Fed. R. Civ. P. 7(a) (emphasis added). The court has not ordered plaintiff to reply to defendants' answer and declines to make such an order. Therefore, the court will not provide plaintiff an opportunity to re-submit a signed reply, but finds his November 28, 2018 was improperly submitted, and his reply is disregarded.
Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff's reply (ECF No. 26) is disregarded as improperly-filed without a court order. Fed. R. Civ. P. 7(a).
