Stephen v. Hall
- Freeman
- 1:19-cv-02225-JPO-VF
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Stephen v. Hall, Judge Freeman ordered new summonses and required Daryl Stephen to serve Hall and Jakab, without deciding whether his claims were valid.
Daryl Stephen, Terry Hall, David Jakab doing business as David Jakab Bail Bonds, and the Clerk of Court.
What happened
In Stephen v. Hall, Daryl Stephen’s case had unclear claims and service history. He had filed a Third Amended Complaint naming Terry Hall, David Jakab, and others, but the court understood that active claims remained only against Hall and Jakab, neither of whom had appeared.
The court did not decide whether Stephen’s claims were timely or legally valid. It noted that some claims might be time-barred or otherwise not viable, but deferred those issues until the defendants appeared or the court considered damages after a possible failure to respond.
Judge Freeman ordered the Clerk of Court to issue amended summonses for Hall and Jakab and required Stephen to serve them with the Third Amended Complaint within 90 days after the summonses were issued. The court declined to recommend dismissal at that time.
The detailed version
- Stephen v. Hall · No. 1:19-cv-02225-JPO-VF
- Freeman
- Mar. 1, 2022
Background
Daryl Stephen filed this action without a lawyer. The court stated that the case’s procedural posture was unclear, including which claims remained and which defendants had been properly served. The court understood that Stephen’s Third Amended Complaint named four defendants, but that active claims remained only against Terry Hall and David Jakab, doing business as David Jakab Bail Bonds. Neither defendant had appeared, and the court understood that Stephen had not served either of them with the Third Amended Complaint.
Earlier in the case, Judge Stanton construed Stephen’s First Amended Complaint as asserting claims under Section 1983, a federal civil-rights statute. The court dismissed those claims against Hall and Jakab on the ground that they were not state actors, and dismissed claims against the City of New York because Stephen had not alleged the required basis for municipal liability. Stephen later filed amended pleadings asserting, among other things, that Hall and Jakab acted under state law and that they were part of a conspiracy under Section 1985. The opinion states that the court had not directly addressed those amended allegations.
Judge Oetken previously directed that summonses be issued for Hall and Jakab and that Stephen serve them. Stephen later purported to serve “Jakab Bail Bonds,” but the opinion states that it was unclear whether this supported a default judgment against Jakab as an individual doing business as that entity. The court also noted that Stephen’s federal claims appeared potentially time-barred based on the dates alleged, and that claims against an unidentified investigator might likewise be time-barred. Stephen did not provide a status update or show cause why the case should not be dismissed; instead, he filed the Third Amended Complaint.
Court’s Action
The court declined to recommend dismissal at that time. In light of Stephen’s self-represented status, his Third Amended Complaint, and the lack of a direct ruling on his amended allegations against Hall and Jakab, the court determined that Stephen should have another opportunity to serve the pleading. The court expressly left open whether some or all claims were time-barred or otherwise not viable.
Order
The Clerk of Court was ordered to issue amended summonses for Terry Hall and David Jakab, doing business as David Jakab Bail Bonds. Stephen was ordered to serve the amended summonses and the Third Amended Complaint within 90 days after the amended summonses were issued. The Clerk was also ordered to mail Stephen a copy of the order. This order addressed service and case administration; it did not decide the merits of Stephen’s claims.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.