Barkai v. Nuendorf
- Kenneth Karas
- 7:21-cv-04060
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Barkai v. Nuendorf, Judge Karas ordered service on eight defendants but deferred identifying the John Doe employees.
Ariel Dan Barkai, the eight named defendants designated for service, and the unnamed John Doe employees of the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office. The order required the court and U.S. Marshals Service to pursue service on the eight named defendants but did not identify or serve the John Doe employees.
What happened
In Barkai v. Nuendorf, Ariel Dan Barkai, representing himself, sued under a federal civil-rights law, alleging constitutional violations. The court had allowed him to proceed without paying filing fees.
The court directed the Clerk to issue summonses and prepare service forms so the U.S. Marshals Service could serve Robert Nuendorf, Anthony Culianos, Officer Donnegan, Dispatcher Monihan, Glenn Cummings, Ray McCallugh, Jeff Wannamaker, and George Hoehmann. The court extended the service deadline to 90 days after the summonses are issued.
The court declined for now to issue an order helping identify the unnamed John Doe employees of the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office because Barkai provided no facts about what they allegedly did. Judge Kenneth M. Karas said the issue could be reconsidered later.
The detailed version
- Barkai v. Nuendorf · No. 7:21-cv-04060
- Kenneth Karas
- May 18, 2021
Background
Ariel Dan Barkai, appearing without a lawyer, brought a civil-rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that the defendants violated his federal constitutional rights. The court had previously granted him permission to proceed without prepaying filing fees.
Service on Named Defendants
Because Barkai was proceeding without prepaying fees, the court explained that he could rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the defendants. The court extended the usual service deadline so that service would be due 90 days after summonses were issued. It stated that, if service was not completed within that period, Barkai should request more time.
The court instructed the Clerk of Court to complete U.S. Marshals Service Process Receipt and Return forms, issue summonses, and provide the Marshals Service with the documents needed to serve Robert Nuendorf, Anthony Culianos, Officer Donnegan, Dispatcher Monihan, Glenn Cummings, Ray McCallugh, Jeff Wannamaker, and George Hoehmann. The court also directed Barkai to notify the court in writing if his address changed and warned that the action could be dismissed if he failed to do so.
John Doe Defendants
Barkai also named “other John Doe employees” of the Rockland County District Attorney’s Office, but the complaint did not allege what any of them had done or failed to do. A court may issue an order, sometimes called a Valentin order, to help a self-represented plaintiff identify an unnamed defendant. The court declined at this time to issue such an order because Barkai had not provided enough information, while leaving open the possibility of revisiting the issue later.
Disposition
The court ordered the Clerk to proceed with service on the eight named defendants and declined at this time to issue a Valentin order concerning the John Doe employees. The order addressed service and identification issues; it did not decide whether Barkai’s constitutional claims were legally or factually valid. Judge Kenneth M. Karas signed the order on May 18, 2021.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.