Ballout v. Benchakroun
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-09893
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Ballout v. Benchakroun, Judge Swain ordered Plaintiff to pay $405 or submit an IFP application within 30 days, or face dismissal without prejudice.
Benjamin Ballout, who must either pay the required filing fees or submit a completed and signed IFP application before the case can proceed; the action may be dismissed without prejudice to refiling if he does neither.
What happened
In Ballout v. Benchakroun, the court directed Plaintiff to pay the fees required to begin a civil case or request permission to proceed without paying them upfront. The order did not address the claims against Yasmine Benchakroun or Engel & Volkers.
Within 30 days, Plaintiff must either pay $405 or submit a completed and signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. The $405 consists of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee. The court will take no further action, and no summons will issue, until it receives payment or the application.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that the action will be dismissed without prejudice to refiling if Plaintiff does not comply or request more time. She also denied permission to proceed without paying fees for any appeal from the order.
The detailed version
- Ballout v. Benchakroun · No. 1:24-cv-09893
- Laura Swain
- Jan. 3, 2025
Background
Benjamin Ballout submitted this civil action to the court by email. The court assigned it docket number 24-CV-9893 (LTS). The order does not address the substance of Ballout's claims against Yasmine Benchakroun or Engel & Volkers.
Fee requirement
Under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915, a plaintiff beginning a civil action must either pay the required fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees, commonly called an IFP application. The total fee here is $405: a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee.
The court gave Ballout 30 days from the date of the order to pay the $405 or, if unable to pay, complete, sign, and submit the attached IFP application. The order specifies acceptable payment methods and requires mailed payments to include the docket number. It also states that no further action will be taken, no summons will issue, and no answer will be required until payment or a completed and signed IFP application is received.
Disposition
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that, if Ballout fails to comply within the allowed time or fails to request an extension, the action will be dismissed without prejudice to refiling. The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.