Lurch, Jr. v. The City of New York
- Alison Nathan
- 1:19-cv-11253
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 12
In Robert Derek Lurch, Jr. v. The City of New York, Judge Nathan ordered service and identification of unnamed defendants while requiring an amended complaint.
Robert Derek Lurch, Jr.; the City of New York; the Kimpton Muse Hotel; unidentified police officers and hotel staff members; the City’s Corporation Counsel, hotel counsel, the Clerk of Court, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
What happened
Robert Derek Lurch, Jr., representing himself, claimed that the City of New York, unidentified police officers, the Kimpton Muse Hotel, and unidentified hotel staff violated his federal constitutional rights. The court had already allowed him to proceed without paying filing fees.
The court ordered service of the complaint on the City and the hotel through the U.S. Marshals Service. It also required the City’s lawyer and the hotel’s lawyer to identify the unnamed police officers and hotel staff members, and to provide their service addresses.
The court required Lurch to file an amended complaint naming the newly identified defendants within 30 days after receiving the information; Judge Alison J. Nathan also denied fee-free status for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Lurch, Jr. v. The City of New York · No. 1:19-cv-11253
- Alison Nathan
- Jan. 10, 2020
Background
Robert Derek Lurch, Jr. appears without a lawyer and asserts claims that the defendants violated his federal constitutional rights. He sued the City of New York; unidentified New York City police officers involved in incidents on October 13, 2019, and November 30, 2019; the Kimpton Muse Hotel; and unidentified hotel staff members who allegedly contacted law enforcement or 911 about his presence at the hotel. The court had previously granted Lurch permission to proceed without paying court fees.
Service on the City and Hotel
Because Lurch was allowed to proceed without paying fees, the court stated that he could rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the City and the hotel. The court extended the service deadline until 90 days after summonses for those defendants were issued. It instructed the Clerk of Court to complete service forms, issue the summonses, and provide the necessary papers to the Marshals Service. The court also stated that Lurch must request an extension if service was not completed within that period and must notify the court if his address changes.
Identifying Unnamed Defendants
The court found that Lurch had provided enough information for the New York City Police Department and the hotel to identify the unnamed defendants and provide addresses where they could be served. It ordered the Corporation Counsel of the City of New York and counsel for the hotel to provide the identities, applicable badge numbers, and service addresses within 60 days of the order.
Within 30 days after receiving that information, Lurch must file an amended complaint naming the newly identified defendants and listing their service addresses. The amended complaint will replace, rather than supplement, the original complaint. The court stated that it would screen the amended complaint and, if necessary, issue another service order.
Disposition
The court directed the Clerk of Court to mail the order and an information package to Lurch, complete the service forms for the City and the Kimpton Muse Hotel, deliver the service materials to the Marshals Service, and mail the order and complaint to the Corporation Counsel and the hotel. Judge Alison J. Nathan certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied Lurch permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal. This order addressed service and case administration, not whether Lurch’s constitutional claims were legally valid.
Read the full 12-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.