Washington v. Downstate Administrative Nurse
- Kenneth Karas
- 7:21-cv-07159
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Washington v. Morley, Judge Karas ordered the U.S. Marshals Service to serve 16 defendants in Washington’s civil-rights case.
The order affects Jeremiah D. Walker Washington, Jr., the 16 named defendants, the Clerk of Court, and the U.S. Marshals Service. It moves Washington’s lawsuit into the service stage but does not resolve his claims.
What happened
Jeremiah D. Walker Washington, Jr. v. John Morley concerns a lawsuit filed without a lawyer under a federal civil-rights law about events at Downstate Correctional Facility. The court had allowed Washington to proceed without paying the filing fee at the outset and received his second amended complaint.
The court determined that the available information allowed service on 16 defendants. Because Washington had permission to proceed without paying the filing fee at the outset, the court directed the Clerk of Court to prepare summonses and service forms and send the necessary papers to the U.S. Marshals Service.
The order did not decide whether Washington’s claims were valid. Judge Kenneth M. Karas ordered the Clerk to arrange service, told Washington to request more time if service was not completed within 90 days after summonses were issued, and required him to report any address change in writing.
The detailed version
- Washington v. Downstate Administrative Nurse · No. 7:21-cv-07159
- Kenneth Karas
- Aug. 22, 2022
Background
Jeremiah D. Walker Washington, Jr., who the opinion says was incarcerated at Woodbourne Correctional Facility, filed this action without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The lawsuit concerns events at Downstate Correctional Facility, which the opinion says is now closed. Washington initially named some defendants by fictitious names. After earlier court orders, he filed an amended complaint and then a second amended complaint identifying defendants and providing service information.
The opinion states that Washington had been granted permission to proceed without paying the filing fee at the outset. That status allows a plaintiff to rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to carry out service of process—the formal delivery of the lawsuit and summons to the defendants.
Court’s action
The court directed service on 16 defendants: John Morley, David Dinello, Adbul Qayyam, Mario Malvarosa, Noriel DeGuzman, Dr. Susan Mueller, Alexander Berger, Razia Ferdous, Patrick Bigaud, Mary Jo Hughes, Jon Miller, Anjum Haque, Lara Darling, Mikhail Gusman, Kausar Chaudhry, and Richard D’Amico.
The Clerk of Court was instructed to complete U.S. Marshals Service Process Receipt and Return forms with the defendants’ addresses, issue summonses, and deliver the required paperwork to the U.S. Marshals Service. The court also stated that if service was not completed within 90 days after the summonses were issued, Washington should request an extension of time. Washington was required to notify the court in writing if his address changed, and the court stated that it could dismiss the action if he failed to do so.
What the order did not decide
This was an order arranging service. It did not decide the merits of Washington’s Section 1983 claims or determine whether any defendant was liable. Judge Kenneth M. Karas ordered the Clerk to issue the summonses, complete the service forms, and send the necessary documents to the U.S. Marshals Service.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.