Dawes v. New York City Housing Authority
- John Koeltl
- 1:20-cv-01417
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 7
In Dawes v. New York City Housing Authority, Judge Koeltl ordered service on new defendants and declined to identify John Does 1–7.
The order directly affected Durven Carl Dawes, the newly named defendants identified for service, and John Does 1–7. It required the Clerk of Court and the U.S. Marshals Service to take steps to complete service.
What happened
Durven Carl Dawes, representing himself and proceeding without paying filing fees, filed a second amended complaint that added some defendants and omitted others. The case is Dawes v. New York City Housing Authority.
Judge Koeltl extended the time for service until 90 days after summonses are issued. He directed the Clerk of Court to prepare the required forms and summonses and give the necessary documents to the U.S. Marshals Service for service on the newly named defendants.
The court declined at this time to help identify John Does 1–7 because the complaint did not explain what they allegedly did and did not provide enough information to identify them. Judge John G. Koeltl said the court could reconsider that issue later.
The detailed version
- Dawes v. New York City Housing Authority · No. 1:20-cv-01417
- John Koeltl
- Mar. 15, 2021
Background
Durven Carl Dawes filed the action without a lawyer and was allowed to proceed without paying filing fees. The court had previously directed the U.S. Marshals Service to serve New York City Housing Authority, Karen Moye, Diana Fong, Phillip Lorranine, and Yelena Kogan. Those defendants were served on June 4, 2020.
Dawes later filed an amended complaint and then a second amended complaint. The second amended complaint included some defendants omitted from the first amended complaint, omitted other previously named defendants, and added new defendants.
Service on New Defendants
Because Dawes was proceeding without paying filing fees, the court explained that he could rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to complete service. The court extended the service deadline until 90 days after the summonses were issued. The court stated that, if service was not completed within that period, Dawes should request an extension of time.
The court directed the Clerk of Court to complete U.S. Marshals Service Process Receipt and Return forms, issue summonses, and provide the Marshals Service with the documents needed to serve Mayor Bill de Blasio, Shola Olatoye, Shang Scaborough, Binal Jones, Hector Ramos, Ms. Brown, Anita Lal, Monique McLeod, Ms. Logan, Kimberly Taylor, Paul Sebastian, Mohammed Subair, Lynette Hill, and Mr. Smith.
The court also directed Dawes to notify the court in writing if his address changes and stated that the action may be dismissed if he fails to do so.
John Doe Defendants
Dawes named seven unidentified John Doe defendants, but the complaint did not describe what any of them allegedly did or failed to do. Under the rule recognized in Valentin v. Dinkins, a self-represented litigant may receive court assistance in identifying a defendant. The court nevertheless declined at this time to issue such an identification order because Dawes had not provided enough information. The court stated that it would revisit the issue later if necessary.
Disposition
The court ordered the Clerk of Court to issue summonses and prepare service materials for the newly named defendants. It declined at this time to issue an identification order for John Does 1–7. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
Read the full 7-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.