Vayani v. 146 West 29th Owners Corporation
- Laura Swain
- 1:24-cv-00450
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Vayani v. 146 West 29th Owners Corporation, Chief Judge Swain ordered a signed complaint and payment or fee-waiver application within 30 days.
The order directly affects Abdul Khaliq Vayani by requiring him to submit a signed complaint and either pay the required fees or apply to proceed without prepaying them. It delays issuance of a summons and states that the action will be dismissed without prejudice if he does not comply within 30 days.
What happened
In Vayani v. 146 West 29th Owners Corporation, Abdul Khaliq Vayani, who is representing himself, filed a one-page unsigned document containing only a case caption instead of a complaint. He also did not submit an application to proceed without paying court fees.
The court gave Vayani 30 days to either pay $405 in fees or submit an application to proceed without prepaying them, and to file a signed complaint. The court will not issue a summons yet. If he does not comply on time, the action will be dismissed without prejudice.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain also ruled that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-waiver status for an appeal. The order did not address the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Vayani v. 146 West 29th Owners Corporation · No. 1:24-cv-00450
- Laura Swain
- Jan. 24, 2024
Background
Abdul Khaliq Vayani filed the action without a lawyer. Instead of filing a complaint, he filed a one-page, unsigned document containing only a caption. He also did not file an application to proceed without prepaying court fees.
Court’s Order
The court explained that starting a civil action requires filing a signed complaint. An unrepresented party must personally sign the complaint or other required filing. The court ordered Vayani, within 30 days of January 24, 2024, to do both of the following:
1. Pay $405 in fees, consisting of a $350 filing fee and a $55 administrative fee, or submit an application to proceed without prepaying fees, commonly called an IFP application; and 2. File a signed complaint.
The filings must identify docket number 24-CV-450 (LTS). If the court grants the fee-waiver application, Vayani may proceed without prepaying the fees. The court ordered that no summons issue at this time. If Vayani does not comply within the allowed time, the action will be dismissed without prejudice, meaning the dismissal would not bar refiling on that basis.
Appeal and Scope of Ruling
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any 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 fees; it did not decide the merits of Vayani’s claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.