Velazquez v. United States Department of Veterans Affairs
- Laura Swain
- 1:25-cv-06726
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Ariel Lebron VelazqeuZ v. United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Chief Judge Swain dismissed the action without prejudice after plaintiff neither paid fees nor sought a waiver.
The dismissal ended Ariel Lebron VelazqeuZ's action against the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and the other named defendants without prejudice. The opinion does not decide the underlying claims.
What happened
Ariel Lebron VelazqeuZ sued the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and other defendants in federal court. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims.
The court had ordered plaintiff to submit an application to waive the filing fees or pay the required $405. Plaintiff did neither within the ordered 30-day period.
Chief Judge Swain dismissed the action without prejudice and denied all pending requests and motions for relief as moot. The court also denied fee-waiver status for any appeal and directed the clerk to enter judgment.
The detailed version
- Velazquez v. United States Department of Veterans Affairs · No. 1:25-cv-06726
- Laura Swain
- Oct. 30, 2025
Background
The plaintiff filed this action against the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and other defendants. The opinion does not describe the claims or the events underlying the lawsuit.
Filing-fee requirement
In an order dated August 21, 2025, the court directed the plaintiff, within 30 days, either to submit a completed application to proceed without paying the filing fee or to pay the $405 required to file a civil action. The order warned that failure to comply would result in dismissal.
The plaintiff did not submit the application or pay the filing fee.
Ruling
The court dismissed the action without prejudice because the plaintiff failed to comply with the filing-fee order. The court denied all pending requests and motions for relief as moot, meaning that it found no need to decide them after dismissing the action.
The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal. It directed the clerk to enter judgment dismissing the action. The court did not address the merits of the plaintiff's claims.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.