Gomez-Kadawid v. Lee
- Valerie Caproni
- 1:20-cv-01786
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Gomez-Kadawid v. Lee, Judge Freeman ordered another attempt to serve Dr. Lee through the U.S. Marshals Service.
Yahkima Gomez-Kadawid, Dr. Lee, the other defendants, the Clerk of Court, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
What happened
Yahkima Gomez-Kadawid, representing himself in a civil-rights lawsuit, was allowed to proceed without paying filing fees. The Marshals Service had served two defendants but could not serve Dr. Lee at Bellevue Hospital because Dr. Lee no longer worked there.
The court had directed the New York City Law Department to find Dr. Lee’s last-known address. The Law Department provided an address to the court, and the court ordered that it be kept confidential and off the public docket.
Judge Debra Freeman instructed the Clerk of Court to prepare the service paperwork, issue a summons, and give the materials to the Marshals Service for another attempt to serve Dr. Lee. The Clerk was also told to update Gomez-Kadawid’s address and mail her copies of specified court orders.
The detailed version
- Gomez-Kadawid v. Lee · No. 1:20-cv-01786
- Valerie Caproni
- Mar. 1, 2021
Background
Yahkima Gomez-Kadawid brought this civil-rights action under Section 1983 and was permitted to proceed without paying filing fees. Because she was proceeding without a lawyer and without paying the filing fee, the court and the U.S. Marshals Service were responsible for serving the defendants.
The Marshals Service had successfully served two of the three defendants. Its attempt to serve Dr. Lee at Bellevue Hospital failed because Dr. Lee was reportedly no longer employed there. In an earlier order, the court directed the New York City Law Department to determine Dr. Lee’s last-known address. The Law Department complied and provided an address to the court.
Order
The court instructed the Clerk of Court to complete a U.S. Marshals Service Process Receipt and Return form for Dr. Lee using the address supplied by the Law Department. The court ordered that address to remain confidential and not appear on the public docket. The Clerk was also directed to issue a summons and provide the Marshals Service with the paperwork needed to attempt service on Dr. Lee.
The court further directed the Clerk to update the docket with Gomez-Kadawid’s new address and mail her this order, along with copies of two earlier orders that she might not have received. The order was signed by Debra Freeman, United States Magistrate Judge.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.