Garnes v. Pritchard Industries, Inc.
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:20-cv-03843
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Garnes v. Pritchard Industries, Inc., Judge Cave ordered Marshals to serve Pritchard for pro se plaintiff Mark Garnes and denied fee-free status for an appeal.
The order affects Mark Garnes, Pritchard Industries, Inc., the Clerk of Court, and the U.S. Marshals Service. It arranges service of the lawsuit and addresses fee status for a possible appeal; it does not decide the employment-discrimination claims.
What happened
Mark Garnes, representing himself, sued Pritchard Industries, Inc. over employment discrimination claims. The court had allowed him to proceed without paying filing fees in advance.
Because Garnes had that permission, the court said he could rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to serve Pritchard. The court extended the service deadline to 90 days after an amended summons is issued.
The court instructed the Clerk of Court to prepare the service paperwork and deliver it to the Marshals. Judge Sarah L. Cave also denied permission to proceed without paying fees for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Garnes v. Pritchard Industries, Inc. · No. 1:20-cv-03843
- Paul Engelmayer
- Oct. 3, 2022
Background
Mark Garnes, who was proceeding without a lawyer, brought employment-discrimination claims against Pritchard Industries, Inc. The court had granted his request to proceed without prepaying filing fees.
Service of Process
Because Garnes had been allowed to proceed without prepaying fees, the court explained that he could rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to serve Pritchard. The court extended the time for service until 90 days after the summons was issued.
The court instructed the Clerk of Court to complete a U.S. Marshals Service Process Receipt and Return Form for Pritchard, issue an amended summons, and deliver the necessary documents to the Marshals. If service was not completed within 90 days after the amended summons was issued, Garnes was told to request an extension. The court also stated that Garnes must notify it in writing if his address changes and that the action could be dismissed if he failed to do so.
Ruling
Judge Sarah L. Cave instructed the Clerk to complete the service form using Pritchard's listed address and deliver all necessary documents to the U.S. Marshals for service. The court certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.