Dosso v. TD Bank

Background

Karim Dosso brought this self-represented lawsuit against TD Bank, Ilya Mekhitev, Vanessa Reyna, and Carol Hasentab. He asserted claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 1981, and the New York State and New York City Human Rights Laws. He alleged that his employer discriminated against him based on race and sex.

The court had granted Dosso permission to proceed without paying the ordinary court fees. In such cases, federal law requires the court to direct the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the defendants if the plaintiff provides the information needed to identify them.

Service of the Lawsuit

The court explained that the usual 90-day deadline for serving a summons and complaint did not begin in the ordinary way because Dosso could not serve the papers until the court reviewed the complaint and ordered summonses to be issued. The court therefore extended the service period to 90 days after the summonses were issued.

The Clerk of Court was directed to prepare a U.S. Marshals Service Process Receipt and Return form for each defendant, issue summonses, and give the Marshals Service all documents needed to serve TD Bank, Ilya Mekhitev, Vanessa Reyna, and Carol Hasentab. The court stated that if service was not completed within the applicable period, Dosso should request an extension of time. It also required Dosso to notify the court in writing if his address changed and warned that the action could be dismissed if he failed to do so.

Disposition

The court ordered the Clerk of Court to mail Dosso a copy of the order and an information package, issue the summonses, complete the service forms with the listed addresses, and deliver the necessary documents to the Marshals Service. The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for purposes of an appeal. The order did not address the merits of Dosso’s discrimination claims.