Buxbaum v. Zillow Inc.
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-10077
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Buxbaum v. Zillow Inc., Judge Swain ordered the pro se plaintiff to pay fees or submit an IFP application within 30 days.
Michael Buxbaum must either pay the required fees or submit a signed IFP application within 30 days; Zillow Inc. is the named defendant.
What happened
In Buxbaum v. Zillow Inc., Michael Buxbaum filed a lawsuit against Zillow Inc. without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying them.
The court ordered Buxbaum, within 30 days, to pay $405 in filing and administrative fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. No summons will issue at this time, and the action will be dismissed if he does not comply.
Judge Swain also ruled that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Buxbaum v. Zillow Inc. · No. 1:24-cv-10077
- Laura Swain
- Jan. 15, 2025
Background
Michael Buxbaum filed this action against Zillow Inc. without a lawyer. He submitted the complaint without paying the required fees and without an application to proceed without prepaying fees, commonly called an IFP application.
Order
The court explained that starting a civil action requires either payment of $405—consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee—or submission of a signed IFP application. The court ordered Buxbaum to do one of those two things within 30 days of the order. If the court grants the application, Buxbaum may proceed without paying the fees in advance.
The court directed that no summons issue at this time. It stated that, if Buxbaum complies, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If he does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed.
Appeal ruling
Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. The order did not address the underlying claims against Zillow Inc.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.