Torim v. United States of America
- Nelson Roman
- 7:19-cv-09192
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Torim v. Rezak, Judge Roman ordered service on Officer Rezak and limited the case to claims against him.
Shloime Torim must serve Correction Officer Ahamad Rezak, and the case will proceed only against Rezak on the remaining claims.
What happened
In Shloime Torim v. Officer Ahamad Rezak, Torim brought a self-represented lawsuit about events at Otisville Correctional Facility. The court had previously dismissed claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act and claims against other defendants, while allowing certain claims against Officer Rezak to proceed if Torim amended his complaint.
Torim did not file an amended complaint or otherwise tell the court that he wanted to do so. The court therefore ordered that the case proceed only against Correction Officer Ahamad Rezak, also identified as Ahmed Rezak, on the remaining claims involving an alleged constitutional violation and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Judge Nelson S. Roman directed the Clerk to issue a summons and instructed Torim to serve Rezak within 90 days or request more time. The court also warned that the case could be dismissed for failure to prosecute and denied permission to appeal without paying fees.
The detailed version
- Torim v. United States of America · No. 7:19-cv-09192
- Nelson Roman
- Feb. 4, 2020
Background
Shloime Torim paid the filing fee and brought this self-represented action concerning events at Otisville Correctional Facility. In an earlier order dated November 22, 2019, the court explained that, unless Torim filed an amended complaint, only his claims against Correction Officer Ahamad Rezak, also identified as Ahmed Rezak, would proceed. Those remaining claims arose under Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics, which permits certain claims for constitutional violations by federal officials, and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
The earlier order dismissed Torim's claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act and dismissed all claims against the other defendants, while giving him permission to file an amended complaint. Torim did not file an amended complaint or otherwise communicate that he wished to do so.
Court’s Action
The court ordered that the matter proceed only against Correction Officer Rezak. It directed the Clerk of Court to issue a summons and mail Torim the order, summons, and an information package.
Torim must serve the summons and complaint on Rezak within 90 days after the summons is issued. If Torim does not serve Rezak or request an extension within that period, the court stated that it may dismiss the claims against Rezak under Rules 4 and 41 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for failure to prosecute. Torim must also notify the court in writing if his address changes; the court stated that it may dismiss the action if he fails to do so.
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying filing fees. This order addressed service and which claims would proceed; it did not decide the merits of the remaining claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.