Obiagwu v. Amean
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-06918
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Obiagwu v. Amean, Judge Swain ordered Emmanuel Obiagwu to pay fees or request permission to proceed without paying them before the case could proceed.
Emmanuel Obiagwu must either pay $405 or submit a completed and signed application to proceed without prepaying fees within 30 days, or the action will be dismissed without prejudice to refiling. The defendants are not required to answer while that requirement remains unmet.
What happened
In Obiagwu v. Amean, Emmanuel Obiagwu submitted the action to the Southern District of New York by email. The court assigned it a docket number but did not address the claims or their merits.
The court gave Obiagwu 30 days to pay $405 in filing and administrative fees or submit a completed and signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. Until one of those steps occurred, the court would take no further action, issue no summons, and require no answer from the defendants.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered that failure to comply, or to request more time, would result in dismissal without prejudice to refiling. She also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying fees.
The detailed version
- Obiagwu v. Amean · No. 1:25-cv-06918
- Laura Swain
- Aug. 22, 2025
Background
Emmanuel Obiagwu submitted this civil action to the court by email. The court assigned the action docket number 25-CV-6918 (LTS). The order does not address the substance of Obiagwu's claims.
Fee or fee-waiver requirement
The court explained that a person bringing a civil action must either pay the required fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying them, commonly called an in forma pauperis application. The total required payment was $405, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee.
Within 30 days after the order, Obiagwu had to pay the $405 or complete, sign, and submit the application. Until the fees were paid or a completed and signed application was received, the court would take no further action, issue no summons, and require no answer from the defendants. If Obiagwu complied, the Clerk's Office would process the case under its procedures.
Disposition
The order states that if Obiagwu failed to comply or failed to request an extension of time, the action would be dismissed without prejudice to refiling. Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The order is a procedural step concerning payment or a fee waiver; it does not decide the underlying claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.