Edwards v. Mangion
- Vincent Briccetti
- 7:20-cv-07370
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Edwards v. Mangion, Judge Briccetti asked Westchester Medical Center to provide service addresses for six doctors in Edwards’s civil-rights case.
Clint Edwards, the six doctors named as defendants, and Westchester Medical Center, which was asked to provide possible service addresses.
What happened
Edwards v. Mangion is a civil-rights case brought by Clint Edwards, who was incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility and represented himself. He alleges that he was denied adequate and timely medical care while detained at the Westchester County Jail.
The court previously allowed Edwards to proceed without paying filing fees and directed the U.S. Marshals Service to serve Jeremy Mangion, Nathaniel Rawicki, Adam Shaner, Ashlyn Morse, William J. Walsh, and Christopher Meltsakos. Two attempts failed because Westchester Medical Center and Westchester County would not accept service for the doctors.
Judge Vincent L. Briccetti requested that Westchester Medical Center provide, if possible, addresses where the six doctors could be served. The court directed the medical center to send the information to the court clerk and Edwards within 30 days and directed the clerk to mail the order to the medical center and Edwards.
The detailed version
- Edwards v. Mangion · No. 7:20-cv-07370
- Vincent Briccetti
- May 12, 2021
Background
Clint Edwards, who was incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, brought this action without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleges that he was denied adequate and timely medical care while detained in the Westchester County Jail. The complaint names six doctors whom Edwards alleges provided him medical services at Westchester Medical Center: Jeremy Mangion, M.D.; Nathaniel Rawicki, M.D.; Adam Shaner, M.D.; Ashlyn Morse, M.D.; William J. Walsh, M.D.; and Christopher Meltsakos, M.D.
Service Attempts
The court had allowed Edwards to proceed without prepaying fees, which entitled him to rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the defendants with the lawsuit. The court issued an order directing the clerk to prepare the necessary forms and summonses. The Marshals Service first reported that service could not be completed because Westchester Medical Center’s legal department refused to accept the papers and said that the process should be addressed to each physician’s address.
The court then issued an amended service order directing service through the Westchester County Law Department. The Marshals Service again reported that service could not be completed because none of the doctors were employees of Westchester County.
Court’s Action
Under Valentin v. Dinkins, a person representing himself in a case is entitled to help from the district court in identifying and locating an unidentified defendant. Judge Vincent L. Briccetti requested that Westchester Medical Center provide, if possible, addresses where Mangion, Rawicki, Shaner, Morse, Walsh, and Meltsakos could be served. The court clarified that it was not asking the medical center to represent or indemnify the doctors.
The court requested that the information be provided within 30 days of the order’s filing date and sent to the clerk of court and Edwards. It directed the clerk to mail the order to Westchester Medical Center and to Edwards. The opinion concerns identifying service addresses and does not decide the merits of Edwards’s medical-care allegations.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.