Riggins v. Wilmington Savings Funds and Society
- Nelson Roman
- 7:20-cv-00017
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Riggins v. Wilmington, Judge Roman ordered Marshals to serve defendants, extended the service deadline, and denied IFP status for any appeal.
Dennis Riggins, the five named defendants, the Clerk of Court, and the U.S. Marshals Service were affected. The defendants were to be served through the Marshals Service, and Riggins was responsible for reporting any address change and requesting more time if service was not completed on time.
What happened
Riggins v. Wilmington Savings Funds and Society concerns Dennis Riggins’s federal claims against five defendants. Riggins was representing himself and had permission to proceed without paying filing fees.
The court ordered the Clerk to issue summonses and paperwork so the U.S. Marshals Service could serve the defendants. It extended the service deadline to 90 days after the summonses are issued and warned Riggins to notify the court of any address change.
Judge Nelson S. Roman also ruled that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal.
The detailed version
- Riggins v. Wilmington Savings Funds and Society · No. 7:20-cv-00017
- Nelson Roman
- Jan. 7, 2020
Background
Dennis Riggins, appearing without a lawyer, brought this action under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and alleged that Wilmington Savings Funds and Society, Upland Mortgage Acquisition Co. LLC, Bayview Loan Services LLC, M&T Bank, and Carrington Mortgage Loan Services violated his rights. The court had previously granted Riggins permission to proceed without prepaying fees.
Service of Process
Because Riggins was permitted to proceed without prepaying fees, the court explained that he could rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the defendants. The court extended the usual 90-day service period so that it would run from the date the summonses were issued. It stated that Riggins should request an extension if service was not completed within that period.
The court directed the Clerk of Court to complete a U.S. Marshals Service Process Receipt and Return form for each defendant, issue the summonses, and deliver the necessary paperwork to the Marshals Service. The court also required Riggins to notify it in writing if his address changed and stated that the action could be dismissed if he failed to do so.
Appeal Fee Status and Disposition
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied Riggins permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. The order directed the Clerk to mail Riggins a copy of the order and an information package. This order addressed service and appeal-fee status; the opinion does not decide the merits of Riggins’s underlying claims.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.