Robertson v. Sullivan Correctional Facility
- Kenneth Karas
- 7:24-cv-01365
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 7
In Robertson v. Sullivan Correctional Facility, Judge Karas ordered help locating defendants for service and required an amended complaint.
Erick Robertson, the unserved defendants identified in the order, the New York Attorney General, and Sullivan Correctional Facility are affected. The order requires the Attorney General to provide service addresses, requires Robertson to file an amended complaint, and terminates Sullivan Correctional Facility from the case.
What happened
In Robertson v. Sullivan Correctional Facility, Erick Robertson, representing himself, alleges that defendants violated his rights while he was incarcerated at Sullivan Correctional Facility. The U.S. Marshals Service could not serve several defendants because their addresses were unavailable.
The court ordered the New York Attorney General to provide service addresses for Superintendent William Keyser, DSP A. Justiniano, SORC E. Simmons, ORC J. Sircable, and SORC A. Escobar within 60 days. After receiving the information, Robertson must file an amended complaint within 30 days. The amended complaint will replace the original complaint, and the court will screen it before ordering service. The court also directed the clerk to terminate Sullivan Correctional Facility, as required by an earlier order.
Judge Kenneth M. Karas did not decide whether Robertson’s claims were legally valid. He also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Robertson v. Sullivan Correctional Facility · No. 7:24-cv-01365
- Kenneth Karas
- Aug. 25, 2025
Background
Erick Robertson, who is incarcerated at Woodbourne Correctional Facility, filed this action without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. He alleges that the defendants violated his rights while he was incarcerated at Sullivan Correctional Facility. The court had allowed Robertson to proceed without prepaying filing fees.
On March 29, 2024, the court terminated Sullivan Correctional Facility from the case and ordered service on the remaining defendants. On August 5, 2024, the U.S. Marshals Service informed the court that its deputies had been unable to serve the defendants.
Order
Because a self-represented litigant is entitled to the court’s assistance in identifying a defendant’s proper service address, the court ordered the Attorney General of the State of New York to provide service addresses for Superintendent William Keyser, DSP A. Justiniano, SORC E. Simmons, ORC J. Sircable, and SORC A. Escobar. The Attorney General must provide the information to the court and Robertson within 60 days of the order.
Within 30 days after receiving the addresses, Robertson must file an amended complaint naming the defendants and providing their service addresses. The amended complaint will replace, rather than supplement, the original complaint. After Robertson files it, the court will screen the amended complaint and issue another order directing service if appropriate.
Disposition
The court directed the clerk to mail the order to Robertson and to send the order and a copy of the complaint to the New York Attorney General. It also directed the clerk to terminate Sullivan Correctional Facility, consistent with the court’s March 29, 2024 order. The court did not decide the merits of Robertson’s claims. Judge Kenneth M. Karas certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
Read the full 7-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.