Valentine Shabazz v. BET Networks
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-09233
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Shabazz v. BET Networks, Judge Swain ordered payment of fees or an application to proceed without prepayment within 30 days.
Danny Amen Anderson Valentine Shabazz, who brought the action without a lawyer, and the action against BET Networks, et al.
What happened
Danny Amen Anderson Valentine Shabazz v. BET Networks, et al. is a civil action brought by Shabazz without a lawyer. The court said he must either pay the required court fees or ask to proceed without paying them in advance.
Within 30 days after October 20, 2023, Shabazz must pay $402 or submit a signed application to proceed without prepayment of fees. If he does not comply within that period, the action will be dismissed. The order did not address the underlying claims.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain issued the order directing payment of the fee or submission of the application. She also ruled that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
The detailed version
- Valentine Shabazz v. BET Networks · No. 1:23-cv-09233
- Laura Swain
- Oct. 20, 2023
Background
Danny Amen Anderson Valentine Shabazz brought the action without a lawyer. The opinion does not describe the underlying claims.
Fee or Application Requirement
The court explained that a plaintiff starting a civil action must either pay $402 in fees—$350 for filing and $52 in administrative fees—or submit a signed application requesting permission to proceed without paying fees in advance. The requirement was based on 28 U.S.C. §§ 1914 and 1915.
The court gave Shabazz 30 days from the date of the order to pay the $402 or submit the attached application. The application was to identify docket number 23-CV-9233 (LTS). The court stated that failure to comply within the allowed time would result in dismissal of the action.
Appeal
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.
Disposition
Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered Shabazz to pay the required fee or submit the application within 30 days. The order did not decide the merits of the action.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.