Grossman v. United States of America
- Nelson Roman
- 7:19-cv-09191
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Grossman v. United States of America, Judge Roman denied the show-cause order as moot and set service deadlines in Plaintiff’s pro se case.
The order directly affects pro se Plaintiff Yitz Grossman, the individual defendants he must serve, and the New York State Attorney General’s Office, which must provide Officer Ahamad Rezak’s current address.
What happened
Yitz Grossman brought this pro se case alleging that officials violated his right to practice his religion while he was incarcerated at Otisville Correctional Facility. The court had ordered the New York State Attorney General’s Office to provide a current address for Officer Ahamad Rezak so Grossman could serve him, but the office did not respond.
After the court ordered Grossman to explain why the case should not be dismissed for failing to move it forward, Grossman responded that the Attorney General’s Office had not provided Rezak’s address. Because Grossman had paid the filing fee, the court said he was responsible for serving the defendants himself.
Judge Roman denied the show-cause order as moot, ordered the Attorney General’s Office to provide Rezak’s address by May 23, 2022, and required Grossman to serve the other named defendants by June 1, 2022. Grossman would have 30 days after receiving Rezak’s address to serve Rezak.
The detailed version
- Grossman v. United States of America · No. 7:19-cv-09191
- Nelson Roman
- May 2, 2022
Background
Yitz Grossman filed this action pro se, meaning without a lawyer, against Officer Ahamad Rezak, Warden B. Von Blackensee, Captain Matt Whinery, Chris Entzel, Chaplain Avroham Richter, and J. L. Maldonado. He alleged that the defendants violated his right to freely practice his religion while he was incarcerated at Otisville Correctional Facility. Grossman filed an amended complaint on December 26, 2019.
The court directed Grossman to serve the summons and complaint on the defendants. Grossman later reported that he could not verify Officer Rezak’s residence. The court therefore ordered the New York State Attorney General’s Office to provide Rezak’s current address for service. The office did not respond to that order.
On March 11, 2022, the court issued an order to show cause, requiring Grossman to explain why the case should not be dismissed for failure to prosecute, meaning failure to move the case forward. Grossman responded on April 11, 2022, stating that the Attorney General’s Office had failed to provide Rezak’s address.
Court’s Directions
The court issued a second order directing the New York State Attorney General’s Office to provide Rezak’s current address by May 23, 2022.
The court also stated that Grossman had paid the filing fee and therefore was responsible for serving all defendants. It ordered him to serve the summons and amended complaint on Warden B. Von Blackensee, Captain Matt Whinery, Chris Entzel, Chaplain Avroham Richter, and J. L. Maldonado by June 1, 2022. After the Attorney General’s Office provided Rezak’s address, Grossman would have 30 days from the date of that response to serve Rezak. The court said it would not direct the Clerk of Court to complete a service form for Rezak because Grossman was not proceeding without paying the filing fee.
Ruling
Judge Nelson S. Roman denied the March 11, 2022 order to show cause as moot because Grossman had responded. The order did not decide the merits of Grossman’s religious-practice allegations.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.