Gross v. HBO West Coast Programming LLC
- Analisa Torres
- 1:20-cv-02675
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Gross v. HBO West Coast Programming LLC, Judge Torres ordered Marshals service of the pro se plaintiff’s discrimination lawsuit.
Abraham Gross, the five named defendants, the Clerk of Court, and the U.S. Marshals Service were affected by the service instructions and related requirements.
What happened
Gross v. HBO West Coast Programming LLC concerns Abraham Gross’s claim that his employer discriminated against him because of his sex under federal, New York State, and New York City laws. He represented himself and had permission to proceed without paying court fees.
The court ordered the Clerk to prepare summonses and service forms for the defendants and send the necessary papers to the U.S. Marshals Service. It extended the service deadline to 90 days after the summonses were issued and told Gross to ask for more time if service was not completed.
Judge Analisa Torres also directed the Clerk to mail Gross an information package and warned that the case could be dismissed if he did not report an address change. The court did not decide whether discrimination occurred and denied fee-free status for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Gross v. HBO West Coast Programming LLC · No. 1:20-cv-02675
- Analisa Torres
- June 8, 2020
Background
Abraham Gross filed this self-represented action under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the New York State Human Rights Law, and the New York City Human Rights Law. He alleges that his employer discriminated against him based on sex. The defendants are Crash For Gold LLC, Central Casting LLC, HBO Inc., HBO West Coast Programming LLC, and Nicole Payson. The court had previously granted Gross permission to proceed without paying the filing fee.
Service of Process
Because Gross was allowed to proceed without paying the filing fee, the court explained that he could rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the summons and complaint. Service of process is the formal delivery of those papers to the defendants. The court extended the usual 90-day service period to 90 days after the summons was issued, because Gross could not serve the defendants before the court reviewed the complaint and ordered issuance of the summons.
The court directed the Clerk of Court to complete a U.S. Marshals Service Process Receipt and Return form for each defendant, issue the summonses, and provide the Marshals Service with the documents and address information needed for service. The court stated that if service was not completed within the extended period, Gross should request an extension. It also required Gross to notify the court in writing of any address change and stated that the case could be dismissed if he failed to do so.
Disposition
The court entered an order of service. It directed the Clerk to mail Gross an information package and to send the service materials to the Marshals Service. The order did not resolve the underlying discrimination claims. The court certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying the filing fee for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.