Buxbaum v. Kaplan
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-00603
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Buxbaum v. Kaplan, Judge Swain ordered Michael Buxbaum to pay fees or apply to proceed without prepayment within 30 days.
Michael Buxbaum must either pay the $405 filing and administrative fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying them within 30 days. The case may be dismissed if he does not comply, and permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal from this order was denied.
What happened
In Buxbaum v. Kaplan, Michael Buxbaum filed a civil action without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying them. The opinion does not describe the claims.
The court gave Buxbaum 30 days to pay $405 or submit a signed application explaining why he cannot prepay the fees. No summons will issue yet, and the case will be processed if he complies; otherwise, the action will be dismissed. The court also denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal from this order.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain issued the order on January 24, 2025, and stated that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Buxbaum v. Kaplan · No. 1:25-cv-00603
- Laura Swain
- Jan. 24, 2025
Background
Michael Buxbaum, proceeding without a lawyer, brought this civil action against Betty Kaplan and Omni Court. The opinion does not describe the claims or the underlying dispute. Buxbaum submitted the complaint without paying the filing fees and without an application to proceed without prepaying fees.
Order
The court explained that filing a civil action requires payment of $405: a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee. Instead of paying those fees, Buxbaum could request authorization to proceed without prepaying them by submitting a signed application. The court directed him, within 30 days of the order, to either pay the $405 or submit the attached application.
The court stated that, if it grants the application, Buxbaum may proceed without prepaying the fees. No summons would issue at that time. If Buxbaum complied, the Clerk’s Office would process the case under its procedures. If he did not comply within the allowed time, the action would be dismissed.
Appeal and disposition
Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for that appeal. This is a procedural order concerning payment of filing fees and an application to proceed without prepayment; it does not decide the merits of Buxbaum’s claims.
Classification
Procedural order.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.