Drews v. Village of Suffern
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-06700
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Drews v. Village of Suffern, Chief Judge Swain dismissed the action without prejudice after Wendy Drews requested withdrawal and denied pending motions as moot.
Wendy Drews and the other named plaintiffs were affected by the dismissal; the court also restricted electronic access to the complaint because it disclosed another person’s complete birth date. The defendants were affected by the dismissal of the action and the denial of pending motions as moot.
What happened
Drews v. Village of Suffern was filed by Wendy Drews, who was the only person to sign the complaint and appeared without a lawyer. Although the complaint also named Roland E. Bristol and E.B. as plaintiffs, the court treated Drews as the only true plaintiff and said she was asserting claims for herself and the other named plaintiffs.
Drews later asked to withdraw this action in an amended complaint filed in another case. The court also noted that the complaint disclosed another person’s complete birth date, contrary to the federal rule generally limiting birth-date information to the year. The court therefore restricted electronic access to the complaint to case participants.
The court granted Drews’s request to withdraw and dismissed the action without prejudice under Rule 41(a), meaning the dismissal did not bar refiling. It denied all pending motions as moot and denied permission to proceed without paying fees on an appeal, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
The detailed version
- Drews v. Village of Suffern · No. 1:24-cv-06700
- Laura Swain
- May 21, 2025
Background
Wendy Drews was the only plaintiff who signed the complaint and appeared without a lawyer. The complaint also listed Roland E. Bristol and E.B. as plaintiffs. The court understood Drews to be the only true plaintiff and treated her as asserting claims on her own behalf and on behalf of the other named plaintiffs.
On May 14, 2025, Drews filed an amended complaint in another action pending in the Southern District of New York requesting to withdraw this action.
Privacy Issue
The complaint disclosed another person’s complete date of birth. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2(a)(2) generally requires a court filing to reveal only a person’s birth year. Because the complete birth date belonged to another person, the court directed the Clerk of Court to restrict electronic access to the complaint to people participating in the case.
Ruling
The court granted Drews’s request to withdraw the action. It dismissed the action without prejudice under Rule 41(a), which allows a voluntary dismissal and, as stated here, does not bar refiling. The court denied all pending motions as moot.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied permission to appeal without paying the required filing fees. Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.