Vaquero v. Kuhlman
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-08718
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Ramon Vaquero v. Robert Kuhlman, Judge Swain ordered payment or an IFP application within 30 days and denied appeal-related IFP status.
Ramon Vaquero must either pay the $5.00 filing fee or submit a signed IFP application within 30 days. If he does not comply, the action will be dismissed. Robert Kuhlman was not required to answer at this stage.
What happened
Ramon Vaquero v. Robert Kuhlman concerns Vaquero’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus. Vaquero filed the petition without paying the $5 filing fee or submitting an application to proceed without prepaying fees.
The court gave Vaquero 30 days to pay the fee or submit a signed application. No response from Robert Kuhlman was required at this stage. The court said the action would be dismissed if Vaquero did not comply within the allowed time.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. The order did not decide the habeas petition’s underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Vaquero v. Kuhlman · No. 1:25-cv-08718
- Laura Swain
- Oct. 23, 2025
Background
Ramon Vaquero, proceeding without a lawyer, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The opinion states that a person seeking to proceed with a habeas petition in this court must either pay the $5.00 filing fee or submit a signed application to proceed without prepaying fees, commonly called an IFP application. Vaquero submitted neither the fee nor an IFP application.
Order
The court ordered Vaquero, within 30 days of the order’s date, to either pay the $5.00 filing fee or complete and submit the attached IFP application. The application was to identify docket number 25-CV-8718. If the court grants the application, Vaquero may proceed without prepaying fees.
The court stated that no answer from Robert Kuhlman was required at that time. If Vaquero complies with the order, the case will be processed under the Clerk’s Office procedures. If Vaquero does not comply within the allowed period, the action will be dismissed.
Appeal-related ruling and effect
Judge Laura Taylor Swain certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied IFP status for purposes of an appeal. The order addressed filing requirements and appeal-related fee status; it did not decide the merits of Vaquero’s habeas petition.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.