Friedeberg v. GE Corporation
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-04050
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Friedeberg v. GE Corporation, Judge Swain ordered Donna L. Friedeberg to pay fees or apply to proceed without prepaying them and sign a certification form.
Donna L. Friedeberg, who filed without a lawyer, must satisfy the court’s fee and signature requirements for the action against GE Corporation to be processed.
What happened
In Friedeberg v. GE Corporation, Donna L. Friedeberg filed a lawsuit without a lawyer. She submitted the complaint without paying the required fees or asking to proceed without prepaying them, and the complaint was unsigned.
The court gave Friedeberg 30 days to either pay $405 in filing and administrative fees or submit an application to proceed without prepaying those fees. She must also sign and return the required certification and warnings form.
The court said that no summons or answer would issue yet. If Friedeberg follows the order, the clerk’s office will process the case; if she does not, the action will be dismissed without prejudice. Judge Laura Taylor Swain also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, finding that any appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Friedeberg v. GE Corporation · No. 1:25-cv-04050
- Laura Swain
- May 20, 2025
Background
Donna L. Friedeberg brought this action against GE Corporation without a lawyer. The complaint was submitted without the fees required to start a civil action and without an application to proceed without prepaying those fees. The complaint was also unsigned.
Court’s Analysis
The court explained that starting a civil action requires either payment of $405—consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or submission of a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees under 28 U.S.C. § 1915. Because Friedeberg submitted neither, the court directed her to take one of those two steps within 30 days of the order. If the court grants the application, she may proceed without prepaying the fees.
The court also applied Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a), which requires an unrepresented party to personally sign pleadings and other court papers. Because the complaint was unsigned, the court directed Friedeberg to sign and submit the attached “Plaintiff’s Certification and Warnings” form within 30 days.
Ruling and Effect
The court ordered Friedeberg to pay the $405 in fees or submit the fee-waiver application, and to submit the signed certification form. No summons or answer will issue at this time. If she complies, the clerk’s office will process the case under its procedures; if she does not comply within the permitted time, the action will be dismissed without prejudice, meaning it may be possible to bring it again. The court also certified that an 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.