Shamilov v. City of New York
- Laura Swain
- 1:20-cv-10224
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Shamilov v. City of New York, Judge Abrams ordered City counsel to provide alternate service addresses for 13 individual defendants.
The order affected the plaintiff, the 13 individual defendants, counsel for the City of New York, and the U.S. Marshals Service by addressing how service of the lawsuit could be completed.
What happened
In Shamilov v. City of New York, the plaintiff had permission to proceed without paying filing fees, and the court directed the U.S. Marshals Service to serve 13 individual defendants. The Marshals Service could not serve 11 defendants at their work addresses because their offices were operating entirely remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. The court had not received an update about whether the other two defendants had been served.
The court ordered counsel for the City of New York to send a letter by March 16, 2022, providing alternate addresses for the 13 individuals. The plaintiff alleged that all 13 worked for the New York City Department of Finance. The City’s counsel could also report whether any of the individuals would accept service by email or through the City’s legal office.
Judge Ronnie Abrams entered this service-related order so the Marshals Service could try to serve the individual defendants at the alternate addresses. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Shamilov v. City of New York · No. 1:20-cv-10224
- Laura Swain
- Mar. 3, 2022
Background
The plaintiff had been granted permission to proceed without paying filing fees. In December 2021, the court directed the U.S. Marshals Service to serve 13 individual defendants. The Marshals Service reported that it could not serve 11 of them at their work addresses because their offices were entirely remote during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The court had not received an update about service on the remaining two defendants.
Order
Relying on the rule that a self-represented litigant is entitled to assistance identifying a defendant, the court directed counsel for the City of New York to submit a letter by March 16, 2022. The letter had to provide alternate addresses for Kim Chan, Akeem Ayinde, Sanjeev Aggarwal, William Hernandez, Anne Mary Mukassa, Estella Dong, Vaneska Alexander Adams, Ira Elias, Roy Abir, William Marshal, Harry Leonard, Danita McGruder, and Kimberly Corker. The plaintiff alleged that these individuals were employed by the New York City Department of Finance.
The court also directed the City’s counsel to include information about whether any of the individuals were willing to accept service by email or through the City’s legal office. After receiving the addresses, the court would direct the Marshals Service to attempt service.
Disposition and Scope
The court entered a service-related order. It did not rule on the merits of the plaintiff’s claims or otherwise state a disposition of those claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.