De'Bey v. The City of New York

Background

John De’Bey filed the complaint on February 10, 2020. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m) generally requires service within 90 days after filing, and service must comply with the applicable federal or New York rules.

On April 29, 2020, De’Bey filed documents indicating that he had served 15 defendants by certified mail: NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan; Mubanga Nsofu; the City of New York; the New York City Housing Authority; the New York City Police Department; Marsha Weaks; Sara Roller Weiss; Wise Towers; the Administration for Children’s Services; the County of New York; Officer Castellanos; the Department of Corrections; Stephanie Eiel; the Family Court of Manhattan; and Caitlyn Hall.

Service ruling

The court held that mailing the summons and complaint by certified mail did not constitute proper service under the federal or New York rules. The New York City Law Department had appeared for NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan, the Department of Corrections, the New York City Police Department, the Administration for Children’s Services, the County of New York, and the City of New York.

The court ordered De’Bey to properly serve Mubanga Nsofu, Marsha Weaks, Sara Roller Weiss, Wise Towers, Officer Castellanos, Stephanie Eiel, and Caitlyn Hall by June 15, 2020 if they were to remain in the case. The court did not order proper service on the Family Court of Manhattan because it stated that the court was not a proper defendant.

The court also directed the City of New York and NYC Health + Hospitals/Metropolitan, together called the “City,” to notify De’Bey and the court by letter no later than May 29, 2020 whether they intended to challenge the manner of service. If they did, De’Bey was required to properly serve those City defendants by June 15, 2020.

Disposition

The order addressed service of process and set deadlines; it did not state that the case or any claim was dismissed. The order was issued by Sarah L. Cave, United States Magistrate Judge.