Nieves v. New York City Department of Education
- Vargas
- 1:24-cv-06267
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Fernando Nieves, Jr. v. New York City Department of Education, Judge Vargas ordered the Law Department to file service information for 12 newly named defendants.
Fernando Nieves, Jr., the 12 newly named defendants, and the New York City Law Department.
What happened
Fernando Nieves, Jr. v. New York City Department of Education concerns how the newly named defendants will receive the lawsuit papers. The court had allowed Nieves to proceed without paying filing fees and had authorized him to file an amended complaint.
Nieves filed a Second Amended Complaint adding 12 defendants. Because he was proceeding without paying filing fees and without a lawyer, the court arranged for the U.S. Marshals Service to handle service and directed the New York City Law Department to provide service addresses or say whether it could accept service for any defendants.
Judge Jeannette A. Vargas ordered the New York City Law Department to file the service information on the court’s electronic docket by September 12, 2025. The order addressed service of the lawsuit papers and did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Nieves v. New York City Department of Education · No. 1:24-cv-06267
- Vargas
- Sept. 10, 2025
Background
Chief Judge Laura Taylor Swain previously granted Fernando Nieves, Jr. permission to proceed without paying filing fees. The court later authorized him to file an amended complaint. On May 22, 2025, Nieves filed a Second Amended Complaint naming 12 new defendants.
Because Nieves was allowed to proceed without paying filing fees, the court explained that he could rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the defendants. The court also noted that a person representing himself without a lawyer is entitled to help from the district court in identifying a defendant.
Service Information
Nieves provided enough information for the New York City Department of Education to identify service addresses for the new defendants. On August 6, 2025, the court directed the New York City Law Department, which the opinion describes as the Department of Education’s attorney and agent, to find those addresses and provide the information to the court and Nieves by September 5, 2025. The court also allowed the Law Department to state instead whether it was authorized to accept service of the amended complaint for any new defendants in their individual capacities.
The Law Department submitted service information by email to the court and Nieves on September 5, 2025.
Ruling
Judge Jeannette A. Vargas ordered the New York City Law Department to submit a letter containing the service information for the new defendants on the court’s electronic docket by September 12, 2025. This order concerns service of process—the formal delivery of the lawsuit papers—and does not resolve the merits of Nieves’s claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.