Friedeberg v. Auto
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-08056
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Donna L. Friedeberg v. Crystal Auto, Inc., Judge Swain ordered the pro se plaintiff to pay $405 or submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees.
Donna L. Friedeberg must either pay the required fees or submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees; the case may be dismissed if she does neither.
What happened
In Donna L. Friedeberg v. Crystal Auto, Inc., Donna L. Friedeberg brought the action without a lawyer but did not submit the required filing fees or an application to proceed without prepaying fees.
The court gave her 30 days from the order’s date to pay $405 or submit the attached application. The court said no summons would issue at that time and that the action would be dismissed if she did not comply.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
The detailed version
- Friedeberg v. Auto · No. 1:25-cv-08056
- Laura Swain
- Oct. 8, 2025
Background
Donna L. Friedeberg filed this action without a lawyer. She submitted the complaint without paying the required fees and without submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees.
Order
The court explained that starting a civil action requires payment of $405: a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee. Instead of paying those fees, a plaintiff may request permission to proceed without prepaying them by submitting a signed application.
The court ordered Friedeberg, within 30 days of the order, either to pay the $405 or submit the attached application. If she submitted the application and the court granted it, she would be permitted to proceed without prepaying the fees. The court directed that the application identify docket number 25-CV-8056 (LTS).
Other provisions and disposition
The court ordered that no summons issue at that time. It stated that, if Friedeberg complied, the case would be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures, and that, if she failed to comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed. The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order as Chief United States District Judge.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.