Almonte v. Doe
- Cathy Seibel
- 7:24-cv-00818
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Almonte v. Yando, Judge Seibel ordered Marshals to serve four newly named defendants in a pro se civil-rights case.
Joel Almonte, the four newly named defendants—Neil Yando, Daniel J. Piccirillo, Steven Taborda, and Pepeto Munroe—and the U.S. Marshals Service were affected by the service instructions. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
What happened
In Almonte v. Yando, Joel Almonte, who is incarcerated, filed a civil-rights complaint without a lawyer under a federal law allowing claims against state officials. He alleged that defendants violated his rights while he was incarcerated at Fishkill Correctional Facility.
The court had previously allowed Almonte to proceed without paying filing fees and helped identify defendants originally listed as John Does. After several amended complaints, Almonte named four additional defendants: Neil Yando, Daniel J. Piccirillo, Steven Taborda, and Pepeto Munroe.
Judge Cathy Seibel ordered the Clerk of Court to issue summonses and prepare service forms so the U.S. Marshals Service could serve those four defendants. The order did not decide whether Almonte’s civil-rights claims were valid.
The detailed version
- Almonte v. Doe · No. 7:24-cv-00818
- Cathy Seibel
- Feb. 19, 2025
Background
Joel Almonte filed a civil-rights complaint without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that multiple unidentified defendants violated his rights while he was incarcerated at Fishkill Correctional Facility. The court allowed him to proceed without prepaying filing fees.
The court previously ordered the New York State Attorney General to identify the defendants originally listed as John Does and provide service addresses. The Attorney General provided information about ten potential defendants. Almonte later filed amended complaints. His first amended complaint named six defendants, whom the court called the Initial Defendants: James D. Emsworth, Richard G. Montross, Patrick Bolbrock, John P. Broas, Chris J. Moricone, and Matthew K. Allers. The court issued summonses for those defendants, and the U.S. Marshals Service served them.
After the Initial Defendants answered and sought a pre-motion conference about an anticipated motion to dismiss, the court allowed Almonte to amend again. His third amended complaint named the Initial Defendants except Matthew K. Allers, and added Neil Yando, Daniel J. Piccirillo, Steven Taborda, and Pepeto Munroe. The court had already terminated Sergeant Allers from the case.
Order
Because Almonte was permitted to proceed without prepaying fees, the court concluded that he could rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to complete service. The Clerk of Court was instructed to prepare a U.S. Marshals Service Process Receipt and Return form for each of the four newly named defendants, issue summonses, and send the necessary documents to the Marshals Service.
The court stated that if the third amended complaint was not served within 90 days after the summonses were issued, Almonte should request more time for service. It also directed Almonte to notify the court in writing of any address change and stated that the action could be dismissed if he failed to do so.
Disposition
The court entered an order of service. It did not rule on the merits of Almonte’s civil-rights allegations or decide any anticipated motion to dismiss.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.