Megginson v. The City of New York
- John Koeltl
- 1:22-cv-00051
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Megginson v. The City of New York, Judge Gorenstein granted the City’s stay request except for identifying John Doe and ordered further filings.
The order primarily affects Michael E. Megginson, the City of New York, the individual defendants, and the Clerk of Court by pausing most deadlines, requiring continued identification and service-related filings, correcting a defendant’s name, and updating the docket.
What happened
In Megginson v. The City of New York, the City asked to pause various deadlines because it had not identified a defendant listed as John Doe. The court also addressed an incorrectly named defendant, “C.O. Roomer,” whose correct name and service information the City provided.
The court directed the Clerk to replace “C.O. Roomer” with “Correction Officer Roxanne Rhooms, Shield No. 6760,” notify the New York City Department of Correction, and request that Rhooms waive service. The court also noted that service or waiver had not been completed for Rhooms and that the City had already obtained waivers for some other defendants.
Judge Gorenstein granted the City’s unopposed motion to stay, except for its obligations to identify John Doe or explain why it could not do so. The City had to file that information by July 1, 2022, and file a status report about its investigation by August 1, 2022. The Clerk was also directed to update Michael Megginson’s address on the docket.
The detailed version
- Megginson v. The City of New York · No. 1:22-cv-00051
- John Koeltl
- June 1, 2022
Background
The City of New York asked the court to stay, meaning pause, various deadlines in the case. The request was unopposed because Michael E. Megginson did not file an opposition after the court extended his deadline to respond. The City also requested additional time to comply with its obligations under Valentin v. Dinkins, as required by the court’s February 1, 2022 order. The City had not yet identified the individual defendant listed as John Doe.
The court’s March 2, 2022 order required the City to provide plaintiff with the identity and service information of four individual defendants, explain that the existing amended complaint would be treated as naming the identified person in place of John Doe, and state whether defendants would waive service. The City partially complied. Waivers of service had been filed for the City, Kirk Cesar, and Cossette Christian, but the City had been unable to identify John Doe.
The court also addressed “C.O. Roomer,” a defendant named in the case’s caption. A waiver of service was returned unexecuted because the New York City Department of Correction could not locate an employee with that name. The City later identified the person as Correction Officer Roxanne Rhooms, Shield No. 6760, and provided her service information.
Rulings
The court directed the Clerk of Court to replace “C.O. Roomer” in the caption with “Correction Officer Roxanne Rhooms, Shield No. 6760,” notify the New York City Department of Correction, and request that Rhooms waive service of summons.
The court granted the City’s unopposed motion to stay the matter for the reasons stated in Docket # 21, except for the City’s obligations under Valentin. The City was ordered to file a letter by July 1, 2022, identifying John Doe or explaining why it had been unable to do so. If John Doe was identified, the letter also had to address the City’s remaining obligations under the March 2 order, including the substitution of the identified defendant in the existing amended complaint and whether each individual defendant waived service.
The City was further ordered to file a status report by August 1, 2022, concerning progress in the Department of Correction investigation discussed in Docket # 21. The Clerk was directed to update Michael Megginson’s address on the docket. The order was signed by Gabriel W. Gorenstein, United States Magistrate Judge.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.