Williams v. Essex
- Philip Halpern
- 7:19-cv-11545
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Andrew Williams v. E. Novoa, Judge Halpern ordered U.S. Marshals to serve several defendants in Williams’s civil-rights case.
Andrew Williams and the individual defendants named for service—F. Foster, R. Watkins, Steve Whitbeck, Dawn Amsler, Edwin Elffied, Mark Osborne, and Stephen Webster. The New York State Board of Examiners for Sex Offenders had already been dismissed in an earlier order.
What happened
Andrew Williams v. E. Novoa, ORC, et al. is a civil-rights case brought by Williams, who is representing himself and was allowed to proceed without paying filing fees. He challenges his delayed release from incarceration in December 2016.
The court had previously dismissed the New York State Board of Examiners for Sex Offenders under the Eleventh Amendment and ordered service on several individual defendants. The court found that service had not been attempted for those individuals and that earlier service on F. Foster had failed because she no longer worked at the listed facility.
Judge Philip M. Halpern ordered the Clerk of Court to prepare service forms and summonses and give the necessary papers to the U.S. Marshals Service for service on F. Foster and six other defendants. The court also extended the service deadline to 90 days after the summonses are issued and reminded Williams to notify the court of any address change.
The detailed version
- Williams v. Essex · No. 7:19-cv-11545
- Philip Halpern
- Feb. 5, 2021
Background
Andrew Williams, proceeding without a lawyer and without paying filing fees, brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against employees of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. The action concerns his delayed release from incarceration in December 2016.
Williams filed an amended complaint on May 21, 2020. It added R. Watkins, Steve Whitbeck, Dawn Amsler, Edwin Elffied, Mark Osborne, Stephen Webster, and the New York State Board of Examiners for Sex Offenders as defendants. In a June 18, 2020 order, the court dismissed the Board under the Eleventh Amendment and directed service on Whitbeck, Amsler, Elffied, Osborne, Webster, and F. Foster.
Service Issues
The docket showed that service had not been attempted on the newly added individual defendants. Earlier service on F. Foster was unsuccessful because she was no longer employed at Woodbourne Correctional Facility. The order states that Foster reportedly worked at Ulster Correctional Facility and directs that service be attempted there.
Because Williams was allowed to proceed without paying filing fees, the court explained that he could rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the defendants. The court also explained that the normal 90-day service period could not begin in the usual way because summonses could not be served until the court reviewed the complaint and ordered their issuance.
Ruling
Judge Philip M. Halpern extended the time for service until 90 days after the summonses are issued. The court instructed the Clerk of Court to complete U.S. Marshals Service Process Receipt and Return forms for F. Foster, R. Watkins, Steve Whitbeck, Dawn Amsler, Edwin Elffied, Mark Osborne, and Stephen Webster, and to provide the Marshals Service with the documents needed to serve the amended complaint.
The order also states that Williams must notify the court in writing if his address changes and that the action may be dismissed if he fails to do so. This order addresses service of process and does not decide whether Williams’s underlying delayed-release claims are legally valid.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.