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S.D.N.Y.Procedural orderFiled June 14, 2021

Virgo v. Sabbazz

Judge
Laura Swain
Docket
1:21-cv-05172
Court
U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
Pages
2
Civil ProcedurePro Se
In one sentence

In Virgo v. Sabazz, Chief Judge Swain dismissed Virgillio Virgo’s new case without prejudice because he failed to obtain required permission before filing.

Who this affects

Virgillio Virgo, whose action against Raheem Sabazz and the other named defendants was dismissed without prejudice.

What happened

In Virgo v. Sabazz, Virgillio Virgo filed a new case against Raheem Sabazz and other defendants without a lawyer and sought permission to proceed without paying filing fees in advance.

A 2018 court order barred Virgo from filing any new case under that fee-waiver process unless he first obtained the court’s permission. He had not asked for that permission before filing this case. Although he did not submit a formal fee-waiver application, the court treated his filing as requesting that status.

Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed the action without prejudice because Virgo failed to follow the 2018 order. The court also denied fee-waiver status for any appeal, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.

The detailed version

For law students, journalists, and other readers who want the full reasoning

Case
Virgo v. Sabbazz · No. 1:21-cv-05172
Judge
Laura Swain
Date
June 14, 2021

Background

Virgillio Virgo filed this action without a lawyer against Raheem Sabazz and other defendants. He sought to proceed without paying filing fees in advance. The opinion notes that Virgo did not file a formal application for that status, but the court construed his submission as requesting it.

In a prior related proceeding, the court had entered an order dated September 21, 2018, barring Virgo from filing any new action under that fee-waiver process unless he first obtained permission from the court. Virgo did not seek that permission before filing this action.

Ruling

Under 28 U.S.C. § 1651, Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed this action without prejudice because Virgo failed to comply with the September 21, 2018 order. The opinion does not decide the underlying claims against Sabazz or the other defendants. The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-waiver status for purposes of an appeal. The Clerk was directed to mail Virgo a copy of the order and record service on the docket.

The authoritative version

Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.

Open opinion PDF →
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