Gross v. HBO West Coast Programming LLC
- Ona Wang
- 1:20-cv-02675
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Gross v. HBO West Coast Programming, Judge Wang ordered new service efforts for several defendants in Abraham Gross’s sex-discrimination case.
Abraham Gross and the defendants who had not yet been served—HBO Inc., HBO West Coast Programming LLC, Crash for Gold LLC, and Nicole Payson—were affected by the service directives. Central Casting New York was ordered to serve the order and file proof of service.
What happened
In Gross v. HBO West Coast Programming LLC, Abraham Gross, representing himself, alleges that his employer discriminated against him because of his sex under federal, New York State, and New York City laws. The court had allowed him to proceed without paying filing fees.
The U.S. Marshals Service had unsuccessfully tried to serve HBO Inc., HBO West Coast Programming LLC, Crash for Gold LLC, and Nicole Payson. Service had succeeded for Central Casting. Gross provided corrected addresses for the four defendants who had not been served.
Judge Ona T. Wang directed the Clerk of Court to issue summonses and prepare paperwork so the Marshals Service could try service at those addresses. She also ordered Central Casting New York to send the order to the four defendants and file proof of service, and encouraged those defendants to participate in a scheduled mediation. The order did not decide whether Gross’s discrimination claims were valid.
The detailed version
- Gross v. HBO West Coast Programming LLC · No. 1:20-cv-02675
- Ona Wang
- Mar. 24, 2021
Background
Abraham Gross brings this action without a lawyer under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the New York State Human Rights Law, and the New York City Human Rights Law. He alleges that his employer discriminated against him based on sex. The court had granted Gross permission to proceed without paying filing fees, which entitled him to rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to carry out service of process.
Service Efforts
The Marshals Service unsuccessfully attempted service on Crash for Gold LLC, Nicole Payson, HBO Inc., and HBO West Coast Programming LLC on July 2, November 3, and November 20, 2020, respectively. The opinion states that service was successful as to Central Casting. After a status conference, Gross provided corrected service addresses for the four defendants who had not yet been served:
- HBO Inc., through CT Corporation System at 28 Liberty Street, New York, New York 10005; - HBO West Coast Programming LLC, through CT Corporation System at the same address; - Crash for Gold LLC, through CT Corporation System at the same address; and - Nicole Payson at an address on West 143rd Street in New York, New York.
Order
The court directed the Clerk of Court to issue summonses for HBO Inc., HBO West Coast Programming LLC, Crash for Gold LLC, and Nicole Payson. The Clerk was also directed to prepare the necessary paperwork, including the U.S. Marshals Service Process Receipt and Return form, and deliver it to the Marshals Service so it could attempt service at the listed addresses.
The court also noted that a mediation conference was scheduled for April 1, 2021. It ordered Central Casting New York to serve a copy of the order on HBO Inc., HBO West Coast Programming LLC, Crash for Gold LLC, and Nicole Payson and file proof of service by March 26, 2021. The court strongly encouraged those four defendants to participate in mediation.
Result and Scope
This was an order concerning service of process and mediation. It did not rule on the merits of Gross’s sex-discrimination claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.