Bell v. Gray
- John Cronan
- 1:20-cv-01588
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Bell v. Gray, Judge Cronan ordered a final attempt to serve Gray and denied Bell free appeal status for this order.
Renzer Bell, Charles Gray, the Clerk of Court, and the U.S. Marshals Service were affected. The order required another attempt to serve Gray and denied Bell fee-free appeal status for this order.
What happened
In Bell v. Gray, the court said an earlier attempt to serve Charles Gray at a California address was unsuccessful because he could not be located there. Renzer Bell provided another address for Gray at Yonkers KIA in Yonkers, New York.
The court ordered the Clerk to issue an amended summons, complete the required service form, and send the necessary papers to the U.S. Marshals Service for a final attempt to personally serve Gray at the new address. The court also directed that copies of this order and earlier orders be provided to Gray when he is served.
Judge John P. Cronan also ruled that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied Bell the ability to appeal without paying the required filing costs.
The detailed version
- Bell v. Gray · No. 1:20-cv-01588
- John Cronan
- Feb. 26, 2021
Background
On January 26, 2021, the court directed the U.S. Marshals Service to personally serve Defendant Charles Gray at an address in California supplied by Plaintiff Renzer Bell. A service receipt filed on February 17 stated that the summons was returned unexecuted because Gray could not be located at that address.
On February 23, Bell filed a supplemental affidavit providing a different service address for Gray: Yonkers KIA, 1850 Central Park Avenue, Yonkers, New York, 10710. The opinion states that Bell had received new information about Gray’s service address. It also states that Bell had been granted permission to proceed without paying the ordinary filing fees.
Order
The court ordered a final attempt to serve Gray at the new address. It directed the Clerk of Court to complete a U.S. Marshals Service Process Receipt and Return form, issue an amended summons, and deliver the necessary paperwork to the U.S. Marshals Service. The paperwork was to include this order and the court’s orders on Docket Numbers 36, 37, and 39, which were also to be delivered to Gray when personal service was made.
The court directed the Clerk to mail Bell a copy of the order. Judge John P. Cronan certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free appeal status for that appeal. The opinion does not decide the underlying claims or state whether Gray was ultimately served.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.