Newsom v. American Airlines, Inc.
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-05889
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Newsom v. American Airlines, Judge Swain barred further filings except appeals after Newsom did not answer a show-cause order.
Deirdre Newsom is barred from filing further documents in this closed action, except documents directed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
What happened
In Newsom v. American Airlines, Inc., Deirdre Newsom had previously filed the case without a lawyer, but the court dismissed it because she did not pay the required filing fees or ask to waive them.
After the dismissal, Newsom asked to seal the case. The court denied that request and told her it would accept only documents directed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. She later submitted two more requests about restricting access to the closed case.
Because Newsom did not provide the declaration required by the court’s show-cause order, Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain barred her from filing further documents in the case, except documents directed to the Court of Appeals. The court also directed the Clerk to terminate the motions, said unauthorized future filings would be destroyed, and denied fee-free appeal status for this order.
The detailed version
- Newsom v. American Airlines, Inc. · No. 1:23-cv-05889
- Laura Swain
- May 14, 2024
Background
Deirdre Newsom filed this action without a lawyer. On September 6, 2023, the court dismissed the action because Newsom did not pay the fees required to bring an action in the court and did not request a waiver of those fees.
More than five months later, Newsom asked the court to place the closed action under seal. The court denied that request on February 27, 2024, and told Newsom that the only documents it would accept from her in the future were documents directed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Newsom nevertheless sent the Clerk two requests by fax to restrict access to the case.
Show-Cause Order and Filing Bar
On April 2, 2024, the court ordered Newsom to explain by declaration within 30 days why she should not be barred under 28 U.S.C. § 1651 from filing further documents in the action, except documents directed to the Court of Appeals. Newsom did not file the required declaration.
Ruling
The court issued the bar order under 28 U.S.C. § 1651. It barred Newsom from filing further documents in the action, except documents directed to the Court of Appeals. The court stated that any other documents she submitted for filing would be destroyed. It directed the Clerk to terminate any motions in the case.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. Chief 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.