Morales v. Department of Corrections

Background

Jonathon Morales, who is incarcerated at the Vernon C. Bain Center, filed this action without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleges that jail officials are failing to protect him from contracting COVID-19. Morales originally filed his complaint with 49 other detainees, but the court later separated the matters into individual civil actions. Morales is the only plaintiff in this action.

The court previously allowed Morales to proceed without prepaying the filing fee. Morales then filed a Second Amended Complaint on March 9, 2021.

Order

The order directs service of the Second Amended Complaint on Patricia Yang and Margaret Egan. Because Morales was allowed to proceed without prepaying fees, the court stated that he may rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the defendants.

The Clerk of Court must issue summonses for Yang and Egan, complete U.S. Marshals Service process forms with their addresses, and deliver the required papers to the Marshals Service. The court extends the time to serve Yang and Egan until 90 days after summonses are issued for them. If service is not completed within that period, the order states that Morales should request an extension of time.

The court also directs the Clerk to notify the New York City Department of Correction and the New York City Law Department and requests that Commissioner Cynthia Brann waive service of summons. The order warns Morales that he must notify the court in writing if his address changes and that the action may be dismissed if he fails to do so.

Disposition and Significance

This is an order concerning service of process—the formal delivery of the lawsuit to defendants—not a decision on whether Morales’s COVID-19 allegations are legally or factually correct. Judge Stewart D. Aaron ordered the specified service steps and requested Brann’s waiver of service. The opinion does not state a final ruling on the underlying claims.