Greathouse v. Vasquez

Background

Leon Greathouse alleged that he was unlawfully arrested and arraigned on a second-degree murder charge on or about June 12, 2000. He further alleged that, while incarcerated on two later, unrelated criminal convictions, he was brought to Manhattan Criminal Court several times for appearances in the murder case. According to the opinion, the murder case was dismissed on October 19, 2017.

The complaint was filed on October 19, 2020. The opinion states that, read broadly, the complaint asserted false-arrest and malicious-prosecution claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal law that allows certain civil-rights claims against state or local officials. Greathouse was proceeding without a lawyer and was entitled to have the U.S. Marshals Service carry out service of process.

Service issue

On February 11, 2021, the court directed the City of New York’s Law Department either to accept service for defendant Freddie Vasquez or to locate Vasquez’s last known address. The Law Department reported that it located Vasquez and that he no longer lived within the 100-mile area relevant to the requested method of service. It also reported that Vasquez had designated the New York City Police Department’s Deputy Commissioner of Legal Services as his agent to accept service on his behalf.

Order

The court directed the Clerk of Court to inform the U.S. Marshals Service to serve defendant Vasquez at the New York City Police Department address provided by the Law Department. The Marshals Service was directed to file proof of service on the docket no later than April 23, 2021. The Clerk was also directed to mail a copy of the order to Greathouse.

This was a procedural order about service of process. The court did not rule on the merits of Greathouse’s false-arrest, malicious-prosecution, or other claims.