Parker v. Department of Corrections

Background

Devorn Parker, who was detained at the Vernon C. Bain Center, filed a self-represented action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal law that allows claims against state or local officials for violating constitutional rights. Parker alleged that Cynthia Brann, Patsy Yang, and Margaret Egan were violating his federal constitutional rights by failing to protect him from contracting COVID-19.

The court treated Parker’s second amended complaint, filed January 26, 2021, as the operative complaint. The court had previously allowed Parker to proceed without paying court fees in advance. The opinion states that the original complaint was filed with 49 other detainees and that the matter was later separated into individual cases, leaving Parker as the only plaintiff in this action.

Service on Yang and Egan

Because Parker was allowed to proceed without prepaying fees, he could rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the defendants. The court explained that the usual 90-day service period could not begin to operate in the ordinary way because Parker could not serve the defendants until the court reviewed the complaint and ordered summonses issued.

The court therefore extended the time for service until 90 days after the summonses are issued. It stated that Parker should ask for additional time if service is not completed within that period. The Clerk of Court was directed to prepare a U.S. Marshals Service Process Receipt and Return form for Yang and Egan, issue summonses, and provide the Marshals Service with the paperwork and addresses needed to serve them.

Service on Brann

The court directed the Clerk to notify the New York City Department of Correction and the New York City Law Department of the order. It requested that Commissioner Cynthia Brann waive service of the summons.

Other directives and ruling

The court required Parker to notify it in writing if his address changes and stated that the action could be dismissed if he failed to do so. Judge Lewis J. Liman ordered the Clerk to mail Parker a copy of the order and an information package, notify the identified New York City agencies, request Brann’s waiver of service, and arrange service on Yang and Egan through the U.S. Marshals Service.

This was an order concerning service of process and case administration. The opinion did not decide the merits of Parker’s allegation that the defendants violated his constitutional rights.