Gunn v. "Bill"
- Philip Halpern
- 7:20-cv-01787
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 11
In Gunn v. “Bill,” Judge Halpern gave Darrell Gunn 30 days to seek more service time and file an amended complaint.
Darrell Gunn must file a request for more time to complete service and an amended complaint within 30 days; the listed defendants had not yet been served.
What happened
Gunn v. “Bill” concerns Darrell Gunn’s lawsuit against several listed defendants, including Sergeant “Bill,” nurses, and correction officers. Gunn is representing himself and was allowed to proceed without paying filing fees. The defendants had not yet been served.
The court said the 90-day service period had expired and ordered Gunn to request an extension of time for the Marshals Service to serve the eight identified defendants. The court also extended by 30 days Gunn’s deadline to file an amended complaint naming two defendants previously identified by the New York Attorney General.
Judge Philip M. Halpern ordered Gunn to file both documents within 30 days and warned that the complaint may be dismissed if he does not file the amended complaint on time. The amended complaint will replace, rather than add to, the original complaint.
The detailed version
- Gunn v. "Bill" · No. 7:20-cv-01787
- Philip Halpern
- Sept. 4, 2020
Background
Darrell Gunn brought this action on February 26, 2020, against Sergeant “Bill,” Nurse Donna Collins, Correction Officer John Doe, Correction Officer Esposito, Correction Officer Finn, Nurse Dave Lindemann, Sergeant D. Mazzella, Sergeant D. Malark, Sergeant W. Roser, Jr., and Nurse Carrie Soltish. The opinion states that Gunn was proceeding without a lawyer and without prepaying filing fees.
The court had previously ordered the United States Marshals Service to serve eight identified defendants. Summonses were issued, but the defendants had not yet been served. The court’s earlier order told Gunn to request an extension if service was not completed within 90 days. That deadline expired, and Gunn had not filed a request.
The earlier order also directed the New York State Attorney General to identify the sergeant at Downstate whose first name was Bill and the John Doe correction officer who allegedly helped escort Gunn to the clinic at Downstate on June 5, 2017. The Attorney General provided information identifying those two defendants, but Gunn had not filed an amended complaint naming them.
Court’s directives
The court ordered Gunn to request, within 30 days, an extension of time for the Marshals Service to serve the eight identified defendants. The court also extended Gunn’s deadline to file an amended complaint by 30 days.
The amended complaint must replace the original complaint rather than supplement it. After Gunn files it, the court will screen the amended complaint and, if necessary, direct the Clerk of Court to prepare service forms with addresses for the newly named defendants and provide the required documents to the Marshals Service.
Disposition
Judge Philip M. Halpern directed the Clerk of Court to mail Gunn copies of the order, the earlier order, and the Attorney General’s letter. The court directed Gunn to file the request for more service time and the amended complaint within 30 days. It warned that the complaint may be dismissed if Gunn fails to file the amended complaint within that period. The order does not decide the merits of Gunn’s claims.
Read the full 11-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.