Valentine Shabazz v. Diggs
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-05593
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Shabazz v. Diggs, Chief Judge Swain ordered Danny Amen Valentine Shabazz to pay $405 or submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees.
Danny Amen Valentine Shabazz must either pay the required fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days, or the action will be dismissed. Robert Diggs is affected because the case will not proceed to summons issuance unless Shabazz complies.
What happened
In Danny Amen Valentine Shabazz v. Robert Diggs, Shabazz filed a civil action without paying the required fees or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying them. The order does not describe the underlying claims.
The court gave Shabazz 30 days to pay $405, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee, or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. No summons will issue yet, and the case will be processed if Shabazz complies.
Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that the action will be dismissed if Shabazz does not comply within the deadline. She also denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees, finding that any appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Valentine Shabazz v. Diggs · No. 1:25-cv-05593
- Laura Swain
- July 24, 2025
Background
Danny Amen Valentine Shabazz brought this civil action 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.
Court’s Order
The court ordered Shabazz, within 30 days of the order, to do one of two things: pay $405 in fees, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee, or submit the attached signed IFP application. If the court grants the application, Shabazz may proceed without paying the fees in advance.
The court directed that no summons issue at this time. If Shabazz 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 and Disposition
Chief United States District 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 addresses filing requirements and does not decide the underlying claims.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.