Friedeberg v. The New York Post
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-04052
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Friedeberg v. The New York Post, Judge Swain ordered payment or a fee waiver and required a signed complaint.
Donna L. Friedeberg, who must pay the required fees or submit a fee-waiver application and must sign the complaint within 30 days to avoid dismissal without prejudice.
What happened
Friedeberg v. The New York Post was brought by Donna L. Friedeberg without a lawyer. She submitted a complaint but did not pay the required fees, request permission to proceed without prepaying them, or sign the complaint.
The court gave Friedeberg 30 days to either pay $405 or submit an application to proceed without prepaying the fees. The court also required her to submit a signed signature page for the complaint.
The court said no summons or answer would issue yet. Judge Swain stated that the case would proceed if Friedeberg complied, but would be dismissed without prejudice if she did not. The court also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees because it certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Friedeberg v. The New York Post · No. 1:25-cv-04052
- Laura Swain
- May 14, 2025
Background
Donna L. Friedeberg brought the action without a lawyer. The complaint was submitted without the required fees or an application to proceed without prepaying them, and it was unsigned.
Fees
The court explained that starting a civil action requires either paying $405 in fees—a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying the fees. The court directed Friedeberg, within 30 days of the order, to do one of those two things. If the court grants the application, she may proceed without prepaying the fees.
Signature
The court also directed Friedeberg to sign and submit the attached signature page within 30 days. The court cited Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a), which requires an unrepresented party to personally sign a pleading or other paper.
Disposition
The court ordered that no summons or answer issue at that time. If Friedeberg complies with the order, the case will be processed through the Clerk’s Office. If she does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed without prejudice. The court also certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.