Purgess v. Parauda
- Ronnie Abrams
- 1:20-cv-02984
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Purgess v. Parauda, Judge Abrams ordered the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the defendants and required Purgess to pay the service costs.
Jan R. Purgess, Martina Parauda, Robert Wilkie, the Clerk of Court, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
What happened
In Purgess v. Parauda, Jan R. Purgess, who was representing himself, told the court that private process servers could not serve Martina Parauda and Robert Wilkie because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The court ordered service through the U.S. Marshals Service. Because Purgess had paid the filing fee, he was responsible for the costs of service.
Judge Ronnie Abrams directed the Clerk of Court to prepare service forms and amended summonses, and to provide the Marshals Service with the necessary documents. The order also stated that Purgess should request more time if service was not completed within 90 days and must notify the court of any address change.
The detailed version
- Purgess v. Parauda · No. 1:20-cv-02984
- Ronnie Abrams
- June 30, 2020
Background
Jan R. Purgess, who was proceeding without a lawyer, filed the action against Martina Parauda and Robert Wilkie. Purgess informed the court that his process servers had been unable to serve the defendants because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Order
The court ordered that Parauda and Wilkie be served through the U.S. Marshals Service under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(c)(3). Because Purgess had paid the filing fees and was not proceeding without paying them, the court made him responsible for the costs of service. Payment was to be made by certified check, cashier’s check, or money order payable to the U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of New York.
The court directed the Clerk of Court to complete a U.S. Marshals Service Process Receipt and Return form for each defendant, mark the forms for service on the United States, issue amended summonses, and provide the Marshals Service with the order and other documents needed to complete service. The order stated that if service was not completed within 90 days after the amended summonses were issued, Purgess should request an extension of time. It also required Purgess to notify the court in writing of any address change and stated that the court could dismiss the action if he failed to do so.
Disposition
Judge Ronnie Abrams entered an amended order addressing service of process. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.