Brown v. Venettozi
- Kenneth Karas
- 7:18-cv-02628-KMK
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Brown v. Venettozzi, Judge Karas ordered the Marshals Service to serve newly added Defendant Coccuzza in Brown’s amended civil-rights case.
Johnny B. Brown, Sgt. R. Coccuzza, the other defendants, the clerk of court, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
What happened
Johnny B. Brown, who is incarcerated and representing himself, sued correctional staff and others employed by New York’s Department of Corrections and Community Supervision under a federal civil-rights law. After the court dismissed his original claims and allowed him to amend, Brown filed an amended complaint adding Sgt. R. Coccuzza.
The court ordered the clerk to prepare the paperwork and summons so the U.S. Marshals Service could serve Coccuzza. The court also reminded Brown about the 90-day service deadline, his responsibility to request any needed extension, his obligation to report address changes, and the discovery procedures that apply to this prisoner case.
Judge Kenneth M. Karas also noted that the other defendants’ response deadline had already been extended to February 6, 2020, because Coccuzza had not yet been served, and stated that no further extensions would be granted. The order directed the clerk to mail Brown a copy and complete the service forms.
The detailed version
- Brown v. Venettozi · No. 7:18-cv-02628-KMK
- Kenneth Karas
- Dec. 26, 2019
Background
Johnny B. Brown, who was incarcerated at Auburn Correctional Facility, brought a civil-rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 without a lawyer. The defendants included correctional staff and other people employed by the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. The court had previously allowed Brown to proceed without paying filing fees upfront, although it noted that prisoners generally remain responsible for the full filing fee under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1).
After a motion to dismiss, the court dismissed Brown’s claims and gave him an opportunity to amend. Brown filed an amended complaint on November 12, 2019, adding Sgt. R. Coccuzza as a defendant.
Order
The court directed the clerk to prepare a U.S. Marshals Service Process Receipt and Return form for Coccuzza, issue a summons, and send the necessary papers to the Marshals Service so Coccuzza could be served. The order identifies Coccuzza’s service address as Green Haven Correctional Facility, 594 Route 216, Stormville, New York 12582.
The court reminded Brown that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m) generally requires service within 90 days after the summons issues. Brown was responsible for requesting an extension if necessary. The court also required him to notify the court in writing if his address changed and stated that the action could be dismissed if he failed to do so.
Other case-management instructions
The court stated that Local Civil Rule 33.2 applies. That rule requires defendants in certain prisoner cases to respond to specific court-ordered discovery requests. The court also noted that it had already extended the defendants’ deadline to answer or otherwise respond to the amended complaint until February 6, 2020, because Coccuzza had not yet been served or assigned defense counsel. It stated that no further extensions would be granted and that Coccuzza was expected to meet that deadline.
Disposition
This was an order directing service and providing case-management instructions. The court directed the clerk to mail Brown a copy of the order and to complete and deliver the service materials to the Marshals Service. It did not decide the merits of the amended civil-rights claims in this order.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.