Griffin-Robinson v. Salov
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:20-cv-02712
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 8
In Griffin-Robinson v. Warhit, Judge Engelmayer dismissed claims against three defendants, ordered service on 13 others, and denied an appeal fee waiver.
The order dismissed claims against Justice Barry E. Warhit, ADA Adrian Murphy, and Social Worker Lise Wilson; it allowed the case to proceed toward service on 13 other defendants, including Harrison Police Department and New York City Police Department officers. Griffin-Robinson was denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
What happened
Griffin-Robinson v. Warhit concerns Sonja R. Griffin-Robinson’s claims arising from her 2018 arrest, a search of her residence, and her prosecution in state court. She sued a judge, a prosecutor, police officers, a hospital social worker, and Harlem Hospital under federal and state law.
The court dismissed the claims against Justice Barry E. Warhit, ADA Adrian Murphy, and Social Worker Lise Wilson. It relied on the earlier dismissal of the claims against Warhit and Murphy based on judicial and prosecutorial immunity, and dismissed the health-information claims because the law cited by Griffin-Robinson does not allow a private lawsuit. The court ordered the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the 13 remaining defendants and extended the service deadline to 90 days after summonses are issued.
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer also ruled that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Griffin-Robinson permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. The order did not state that the dismissed claims were dismissed with or without prejudice.
The detailed version
- Griffin-Robinson v. Salov · No. 1:20-cv-02712
- Paul Engelmayer
- Sept. 21, 2020
Background
Sonja R. Griffin-Robinson, representing herself, brought claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and state law based on an April 18, 2018 arrest in upper Manhattan. She alleged that Harrison Police Department officers, accompanied by New York City Police Department officers, searched her residence using a “false warrant” and then arrested and prosecuted her in Westchester County Court. She also alleged that an assistant district attorney obtained or discussed her medical information with a Harlem Hospital social worker in violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, a federal health-information law.
Griffin-Robinson was allowed to proceed without prepaying filing fees. In an earlier order, Judge Louis Stanton dismissed her claims against Justice Barry E. Warhit based on judicial immunity and frivolousness, dismissed her claims against Assistant District Attorney Adrian Murphy based on prosecutorial immunity and frivolousness, and dismissed her health-information claims because the cited law does not provide a private right to sue. The earlier order allowed her to file a second amended complaint addressing other claims. She filed that complaint on July 2, 2020, but had not served any defendant.
Rulings on Previously Dismissed Claims
The court held that the second amended complaint repeated essentially the same claims against Justice Warhit and ADA Murphy. It therefore dismissed any claims against those defendants for the reasons given in Judge Stanton’s earlier order.
The court also dismissed the claims against Social Worker Lise Wilson because Griffin-Robinson asserted only health-information claims against Wilson, and the court concluded that the cited law does not provide a private right of action. The court likewise dismissed any health-information claims against Murphy for the reasons stated in the earlier order.
The order did not expressly state whether these dismissals were with prejudice or without prejudice.
Service on Remaining Defendants
The remaining defendants were Anthony Salou, Kevin Wong, Steven Palias, Alexandra Bucci, Robert Forgione, William Curow, Darwin Marrero, Henry Bautista, Marlin Peralta, Jacquelynn Opirhory, Gabriel Cabral, Gregory Ulyses, and Richard DiDonato. Because Griffin-Robinson was proceeding without prepaying fees, the court directed the Clerk of Court to prepare service forms and summonses and deliver the necessary papers to the U.S. Marshals Service.
The court extended the time for service to 90 days after the summonses are issued. It also stated that Griffin-Robinson should request an extension if service does not occur within that period and must notify the court in writing if her address changes. The court warned that the action could be dismissed if she failed to provide notice of an address change.
Disposition
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer dismissed Griffin-Robinson’s claims against Justice Barry Warhit, ADA Adrian Murphy, and Social Worker Lise Wilson. The court directed service of the second amended complaint on the 13 remaining defendants. It also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
Read the full 8-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.