Gunn v. "Bill"
- Philip Halpern
- 7:20-cv-01787
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Gunn v. “Bill,” Judge Halpern ordered service and identification of unnamed defendants in Darrell Gunn’s constitutional-rights case.
Darrell Gunn, the identified defendants, Sergeant “Bill,” the John Doe correction officer, the New York State Attorney General, the Clerk of Court, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the defendants subject to Local Civil Rule 33.2 discovery obligations.
What happened
In Gunn v. “Bill,” Darrell Gunn, who is incarcerated and representing himself, sued under a federal civil-rights statute, alleging that the defendants violated his constitutional rights. The court had already allowed him to proceed without paying the filing fee up front.
The court ordered the Clerk and U.S. Marshals Service to serve eight identified defendants. It also ordered the New York State Attorney General to identify Sergeant “Bill” and a John Doe correction officer, after which Gunn must file an amended complaint naming them. The defendants must also respond to standard prisoner discovery requests within 120 days after service.
Judge Philip M. Halpern issued the order on April 9, 2020. He extended the service deadline until 90 days after summonses are issued and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Gunn v. "Bill" · No. 7:20-cv-01787
- Philip Halpern
- Apr. 9, 2020
Background
Darrell Gunn, who was incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility and proceeded without a lawyer, brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging violations of his federal constitutional rights. The court had previously granted permission to proceed without prepaying the filing fee. The order notes that prisoners must still pay the full filing fee over time under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1).
Service on Identified Defendants
Because Gunn was allowed to proceed without prepaying the filing fee, the court ordered 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 until 90 days after summonses are issued. It stated that Gunn should request an extension if service is not completed within that period.
The court directed the Clerk of Court to prepare service forms, issue summonses, and provide the necessary papers to the Marshals Service for Donna Collins, Correction Officer Esposito, Correction Officer Finn, Dave Lindemann, Sergeant D. Mazzella, Sergeant D. Malark, Sergeant W. Roser, Jr., and Carrie Soltish. Gunn was also ordered to notify the court in writing if his address changes.
Identifying the Unnamed Defendants
The court found that Gunn had provided enough information for the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to identify Sergeant “Bill,” whose first name was Bill, and the John Doe correction officer who allegedly helped escort Gunn to a clinic at Downstate on June 5, 2017. Under the procedure used for helping a self-represented litigant identify an unnamed defendant, the court ordered the New York State Attorney General to determine their identities, badge numbers, and service addresses within 60 days.
Within 30 days after receiving that information, Gunn must file an amended complaint giving the defendants’ full names. The amended complaint will replace, rather than supplement, the original complaint. The court stated that it would screen the amended complaint and, if necessary, direct service of the newly identified defendants.
Discovery and Disposition
The court ruled that Local Civil Rule 33.2 applies. That rule requires defendants in certain prisoner cases to answer specified court-ordered interrogatories and document requests. The defendants must serve their responses within 120 days after service of the complaint and must quote each request verbatim.
The court directed the Clerk to mail the order and an information package to Gunn, complete the service forms for the identified defendants, provide the required documents to the Marshals Service, and send the order and complaint to the New York State Attorney General. It also directed the defendants to comply with Local Civil Rule 33.2. The court certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal.
This was an order concerning service, identification of defendants, and discovery. It did not decide whether Gunn’s constitutional-rights allegations were valid.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.