Bonie v. Annucci

Background

NASEAN BONIE, who was incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility and was proceeding without a lawyer, brought an action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 alleging that the defendants were violating his constitutional rights. The court had previously allowed him to proceed without paying the filing fee in advance and had directed service on Anthony Annucci, Superintendent Royce, and Ileshema Thomas, also identified as Mimi/Officer Thomas. Those defendants were served in March 2020.

Bonie filed an amended complaint on March 30, 2020, adding Sergeant Cobb, Sergeant Mazzalla, Officer Brogan, Officer Ruiz, and Officer Matthews. Annucci, Royce, and Thomas requested additional time to respond because the newly added defendants had not yet been served. The court had already granted that extension.

Service of the Amended Complaint

Because Bonie had permission to proceed without prepaying the filing fee, the court explained that he could rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to serve process. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m) generally requires service within 90 days after filing, but the court found that Bonie could not have served the amended complaint until the court reviewed it and ordered summonses issued. The court therefore extended the service period until 90 days after the summonses are issued.

The Clerk of Court was directed to complete a U.S. Marshals Service Process Receipt and Return form for each of the five newly added defendants, issue summonses, and provide the Marshals Service with the paperwork needed for service. The court stated that Bonie should request an additional extension if the amended complaint was not served within the extended period. It also instructed Bonie to notify the court in writing if his address changes and stated that the action may be dismissed if he fails to do so.

Discovery Requirements

The court determined that Local Civil Rule 33.2 applies. That rule requires defendants in certain prisoner cases to respond to specified, court-ordered discovery requests. The defendants must serve responses to the standard interrogatories and document requests within 120 days after service of the amended complaint and must quote each request verbatim in their responses.

Disposition

Judge Kenneth M. Karas directed the Clerk to mail Bonie a copy of the order and an information package, complete the service forms, and deliver the necessary documents to the U.S. Marshals Service. The court confirmed that Local Civil Rule 33.2 applies to the action. It also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Bonie's permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal. The order addressed service and discovery procedures; it did not resolve the merits of Bonie's constitutional-rights claims.