Leach v. New York City
- Andrew Carter
- 1:22-cv-03007
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 11
In Leach v. New York City, Judge Carter ordered service and identification of unnamed defendants in Leach’s false-arrest lawsuit.
Monte S. Leach must use the court-directed process to identify and name the John Doe defendants and obtain service. New York City must be served, and its Law Department must provide identifying and service information for the unnamed defendants. The order does not resolve the allegations against any defendant.
What happened
In Leach v. New York City, Monte S. Leach, representing himself, alleged that he was falsely accused of a crime and falsely arrested under a federal civil-rights law. The court had already allowed him to proceed without paying filing fees in advance.
Judge Carter ordered the Clerk of Court to issue a summons and paperwork so the U.S. Marshals Service could serve New York City. The court also added “John Doe 1-5” as defendants because Leach had not identified the individuals involved in his arrest.
The court directed the New York City Law Department to identify those individuals and provide their badge numbers and service addresses within 60 days. Leach must file an amended complaint naming them within 30 days after receiving that information. Judge Carter also denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Leach v. New York City · No. 1:22-cv-03007
- Andrew Carter
- July 11, 2022
Background
Monte S. Leach, who was appearing without a lawyer, brought an action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleged that he was falsely accused of a crime and falsely arrested on May 21, 2021. He did not identify the individuals whom he alleged were responsible for the arrest. The court had previously granted Leach permission to proceed without paying filing fees in advance.
Service on New York City
Because Leach was allowed to proceed without prepaying fees, the court ordered the Clerk of Court to prepare a U.S. Marshals Service process form for New York City, issue a summons, and give the Marshals Service the documents needed to serve the City. The court extended the service deadline to 90 days after the summons is issued. If service is not completed by then, Leach must request more time. The court also told Leach to notify it in writing if his address changes and stated that the action could be dismissed if he failed to do so.
Unnamed defendants
Under Rule 21 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the court directed the Clerk to add “John Doe 1-5” as defendants. The amendment was stated to be without prejudice to any defenses those defendants might later assert.
The court found that Leach had provided enough information for New York City to identify the people involved. It therefore ordered the New York City Law Department, identified in the order as the City’s attorney and agent, to determine the identity, badge number, and service address of each John Doe defendant within 60 days. Within 30 days after receiving that information, Leach must file an amended complaint naming the defendants. The amended complaint will replace, rather than supplement, the original complaint. The court stated that it would screen the amended complaint and, if necessary, direct the Clerk to prepare service documents for the newly named defendants.
Disposition
Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr. ordered service of the complaint on New York City, directed that “John Doe 1-5” be added as defendants, and directed that a copy of the order and complaint be mailed to the New York City Law Department. The order did not decide whether Leach was falsely accused or falsely arrested. The court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 11-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.