Kuperman v. New York City Department of Education
- Laura Swain
- 1:20-cv-06834
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Kuperman v. New York City Department of Education, Judge Swain dismissed claims against the agency, substituted New York City, and ordered service through Marshals.
Moshe Kuperman’s lawsuit will proceed against the City of New York and Ronald James for purposes of service, while the New York City Department of Education was dismissed as a named defendant.
What happened
In Kuperman v. New York City Department of Education, Moshe Kuperman, representing himself, alleged that his employer discriminated against him because of his race and religion under federal, state, and city laws. The court had allowed him to proceed without paying filing fees.
The court dismissed the claims against the New York City Department of Education because the agency generally cannot be sued in its own name. It instead directed the Clerk of Court to substitute the City of New York, without prejudicing defenses the City may assert. The court also ordered the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the City and Ronald James.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain extended the service deadline until 90 days after summonses are issued and instructed the Clerk to prepare the required service forms and documents. The order also required Kuperman to notify the court if his address changes.
The detailed version
- Kuperman v. New York City Department of Education · No. 1:20-cv-06834
- Laura Swain
- Aug. 28, 2020
Background
Moshe Kuperman filed this self-represented action against the New York City Department of Education and Ronald James. He alleged employment discrimination based on race and religion under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. § 1981, and the New York State and New York City Human Rights Laws. The court had granted Kuperman permission to proceed without paying filing fees, a status commonly called proceeding in forma pauperis.
Claims Against the Department of Education
Under the New York City Charter, city agencies generally cannot be sued in their own names. The court therefore dismissed Kuperman’s claims against the New York City Department of Education. Because the complaint clearly intended to assert claims against New York City, the court construed the complaint as making those claims against the City and directed the Clerk of Court to replace the Department of Education with the City of New York in the case caption. The court stated that this change did not prevent the City from asserting any defenses.
Service of the Lawsuit
Because Kuperman was allowed to proceed without paying filing fees, he could rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the defendants. The court extended the usual service deadline until 90 days after the summonses were issued. It instructed the Clerk to prepare a U.S. Marshals Service Process Receipt and Return form for the City of New York and Ronald James, issue summonses, and send the necessary paperwork to the Marshals Service.
The court stated that if service was not completed within that period, Kuperman should request an extension. It also required him to notify the court in writing of any address change and noted that the action could be dismissed if he failed to do so.
Disposition
Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed Kuperman’s claims against the New York City Department of Education, directed substitution of the City of New York, and ordered the Clerk and U.S. Marshals Service to proceed with service on the City and Ronald James. The order did not decide whether the alleged discrimination occurred or whether the claims ultimately have merit.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.