Buxbaum v. Pollak
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-00529
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Buxbaum v. Pollak, Judge Swain ordered Michael Buxbaum to pay $405 or request to proceed without paying fees within 30 days, or face dismissal without prejudice.
Michael Buxbaum must either pay the $405 fee or submit a signed application to proceed without paying it; otherwise, the action will be dismissed without prejudice to refiling. Aimee Pollak is not required to answer at this stage.
What happened
In Buxbaum v. Pollak, Michael Buxbaum submitted this civil action to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by email. The order does not discuss the underlying dispute or claims.
Within 30 days, Buxbaum must either pay $405 in fees or submit a signed application to proceed without paying the fees. Until one of those steps occurs, the case will not move forward, and the court will not issue a summons or require Aimee Pollak to answer.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that the action will be dismissed without prejudice to refiling if Buxbaum does not comply or request more time. She also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Buxbaum v. Pollak · No. 1:25-cv-00529
- Laura Swain
- Jan. 23, 2025
Background
Michael Buxbaum submitted this civil action to the court by email. The order does not describe the dispute, the claims, or the parties’ positions on the underlying matter.
Payment or fee-waiver application
The court explained that a person starting a civil action must either pay the required fees or submit a signed application to proceed without paying them. The total stated fee is $405, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee.
Within 30 days after the order, Buxbaum must either pay the fees or complete, sign, and submit the attached application to proceed without paying them. The order provides payment instructions and states that no further action will be taken, no summons will issue, and no answer will be required until the fees are paid or a completed and signed application is received. If the court grants the application, Buxbaum may proceed without paying the fees in advance.
Disposition
The court ordered that, if Buxbaum fails to comply within the allowed time or fails to request an extension, the action will be dismissed without prejudice to refiling. The order does not dismiss the action immediately and does not decide the underlying claims.
The court also certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.