Barnes v. Uzu
- Kenneth Karas
- 7:20-cv-05885
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Barnes v. Uzu, Judge Karas ordered U.S. Marshals service for Barnes’s medical-needs lawsuit and extended the service deadline.
The order affected Sergio Barnes, the defendants identified for service, the Clerk of Court, and the U.S. Marshals Service. It required the court and Marshals Service to arrange service and required Barnes to keep the court informed of address changes.
What happened
In Barnes v. Uzu, Sergio Barnes, who is incarcerated and representing himself, sued under a federal civil-rights law. He alleged that the defendants were deliberately indifferent to his serious medical needs.
Because Barnes had permission to proceed without paying the filing fee upfront, the court said the U.S. Marshals Service would serve the defendants. The court extended the service deadline until 90 days after the summonses were issued.
Judge Kenneth M. Karas ordered the Clerk of Court to prepare service forms, issue summonses, and give the necessary documents to the Marshals Service. The order did not decide whether Barnes’s medical-needs allegations were valid.
The detailed version
- Barnes v. Uzu · No. 7:20-cv-05885
- Kenneth Karas
- Jan. 28, 2021
Background
Sergio Barnes, who was incarcerated at Green Haven Correctional Facility and was representing himself, brought a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleged that the defendants were deliberately indifferent to his serious medical needs. The court had previously granted Barnes permission to proceed without paying the filing fee upfront.
Service of the Complaint
The court explained that a person allowed to proceed without paying the fee upfront may rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the summons and complaint. Because Barnes could not serve the papers before the court reviewed the complaint and ordered summonses issued, the court extended the service deadline until 90 days after the summonses were issued. The court stated that Barnes should request more time if service was not completed within that period.
The court directed the Clerk of Court to complete U.S. Marshals Service process forms, issue summonses, and provide the Marshals Service with the documents needed to serve Dr. Edwin Uzu, Dr. Amad Akhan, Dr. Robert Bentivegna, Dr. Carl Koeningsman, A. McCarthy, and Leslie Carey. Barnes was also required to notify the court in writing if his address changed, and the court stated that the action could be dismissed if he failed to do so.
Ruling
Judge Kenneth M. Karas ordered the Clerk of Court to mail Barnes a copy of the order and an information package, complete the service forms, issue the summonses, and deliver the necessary documents to the U.S. Marshals Service. This was an order concerning service of process, not a decision on the merits of Barnes’s medical-needs allegations.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.