Woodhouse v. Neiman-Marcus Retail Store
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-06499
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Woodhouse v. Neiman-Marcus Retail Store, Chief Judge Swain ordered signed filings within 30 days or dismissal and denied fee-free appeal status.
Darri D. Woodhouse must provide original signatures within 30 days for the action to proceed. The defendants are not yet required to respond because no summons has issued. If Woodhouse does not comply, the action will be dismissed.
What happened
Darri D. Woodhouse sued Neiman-Marcus Retail Store and other defendants without a lawyer. Woodhouse submitted the complaint, an application to proceed without paying fees upfront, and a prisoner authorization without signatures.
The court ordered Woodhouse to provide original signatures on all three documents within 30 days. No summons will issue yet, and the action will be processed if Woodhouse complies; otherwise, the court said the action will be dismissed.
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Woodhouse permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
The detailed version
- Woodhouse v. Neiman-Marcus Retail Store · No. 1:25-cv-06499
- Laura Swain
- Aug. 14, 2025
Background
Darri D. Woodhouse brought the action without a lawyer. Woodhouse submitted a complaint, an application to proceed without prepaying filing fees, and a prisoner authorization. The opinion states that each document was submitted without a signature.
Signature requirement
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(a) requires a pleading, motion, or other court paper to be signed by an attorney of record or, when a party is unrepresented, by that party personally. The court explained that the rule requires a handwritten name or a handplaced mark.
Order
The court directed Woodhouse to submit original signatures on the complaint, the fee-waiver application, and the prisoner authorization within 30 days of the order. The court attached copies of the signature pages. No summons will issue at this time. If Woodhouse complies, the Clerk’s Office will process the case under its procedures. If Woodhouse does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order does not decide the underlying claims against the defendants.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.