Bobby Lee Collins v. Kurgan, et al.

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California directed pro se prisoner plaintiff Bobby Lee Collins to re-file his opposition to defendants’ motion for summary judgment because the submitted opposition was unsigned. The court gave plaintiff twenty-one days to comply and warned that failure to do so could result in striking the filing and recommending that defendants’ motion be granted.

Holdings

1. A pro se party must sign pleadings, motions, and other papers submitted for filing under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a); therefore, the court could not consider plaintiff's unsigned opposition unless he signed and re-filed it.
2. The court was required to provide plaintiff an opportunity to re-file a signed opposition before striking the unsigned filing and recommending that defendants' summary-judgment motion be granted.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the court could consider a pro se plaintiff's opposition to summary judgment when the opposition was unsigned.
2. What procedural opportunity should be provided to the plaintiff before the unsigned opposition is stricken and defendants' summary-judgment motion potentially granted.

Disposition

other