Brown v. Donald John Trump
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-07009
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Brown v. Donald J. Trump, Judge Swain ordered Maxine Brown to pay $405 or submit an IFP application within 30 days.
Maxine Brown must either pay the $405 fee or submit a completed and signed IFP application within 30 days to keep the action moving. If she does neither, the action will be dismissed without prejudice to refiling. The order does not address the claims against Donald J. Trump or the other defendants.
What happened
Maxine Brown submitted this civil action against Donald J. Trump and others by email, and the court assigned it docket number 25-CV-7009. The court explained that proceeding with a civil action requires either paying the filing fees or requesting permission to proceed without paying them in advance.
The court ordered Brown, within 30 days, to pay $405 or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees. No further action will be taken, and no summons will issue, until the payment or application is received.
If Brown does not comply or request more time, the action will be dismissed without prejudice to refiling. Judge Laura Taylor Swain also certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Brown v. Donald John Trump · No. 1:25-cv-07009
- Laura Swain
- Aug. 26, 2025
Background
Maxine Brown submitted this action to the Southern District of New York by email. The court assigned it docket number 25-CV-7009.
Fee or IFP requirement
The court stated that a plaintiff starting a civil action must either pay the required fees or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying them. The required amount was $405, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee. The court ordered Brown to complete one of those options within 30 days of the order.
An application to proceed without prepaying fees is commonly called an IFP application. The court explained that, if it grants the application, Brown may proceed without prepaying the fees. Until the payment is processed or a completed and signed IFP application is received, no further action will be taken, no summons will issue, and no answer will be required.
Disposition
The order states that if Brown fails to comply within the allowed time, or fails to request an extension, the action will be dismissed without prejudice to refiling. The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. Judge Laura Taylor Swain signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.