Brock v. The City of New York
- Analisa Torres
- 1:21-cv-11094
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Brock v. City of New York, Judge Torres substituted Eric Adams for Bill DeBlasio and ordered service, while denying appeal-related fee waiver status.
Mandela Brock, the City of New York, and Mayor Eric Adams in his official capacity. The order also replaced former Mayor Bill DeBlasio as the official-capacity defendant and directed the Clerk and U.S. Marshals Service to handle service.
What happened
In Brock v. The City of New York, Mandela Brock, who was representing himself, challenged New York City’s vaccine mandate. The court had already allowed Brock to proceed without paying filing fees.
Because Brock was proceeding without paying fees, the court directed the Clerk and U.S. Marshals Service to serve the City and the Mayor. The court also extended the service deadline to 90 days after summonses are issued and required Brock to notify the court of any address change.
Judge Analisa Torres ordered Eric Adams, in his official capacity as Mayor, substituted for former Mayor Bill DeBlasio. She also directed the Clerk to issue the summonses and service paperwork, and denied fee-waiver status for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Brock v. The City of New York · No. 1:21-cv-11094
- Analisa Torres
- Jan. 7, 2022
Background
Mandela Brock, appearing without a lawyer, brought this action under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 to challenge New York City’s vaccine mandate. In an order dated January 5, 2022, the court granted Brock permission to proceed without prepaying filing fees.
Substitution of Mayor
Brock sued Bill DeBlasio only in his official capacity as then-Mayor of the City of New York. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25(d), the court directed the Clerk to substitute Eric Adams, in his official capacity as Mayor of the City of New York, for former Mayor Bill DeBlasio.
Service of Process
Because Brock was allowed to proceed without prepaying filing fees, the court stated that Brock could rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the defendants. The court extended the usual 90-day service period so that it would run from the date the summonses were issued. The court stated that, if service was not completed within that period, Brock should request an extension.
The court instructed the Clerk to prepare a U.S. Marshals Service Process Receipt and Return form for the City and Mayor Eric Adams, issue summonses, and provide the Marshals Service with the documents needed to complete service. Brock was required to notify the court in writing of any address change, and the court warned that the action could be dismissed if Brock failed to do so.
Disposition
Judge Analisa Torres ordered the substitution of Eric Adams for Bill DeBlasio and directed the Clerk to issue the summonses, complete the service forms, and deliver the necessary documents to the Marshals Service. The court certified that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for the purpose of an appeal. The order did not decide the merits of Brock’s challenge to the vaccine mandate.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.