Friedman v. Bartell
- Philip Halpern
- 7:22-cv-07630
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Friedman v. Bartell, Judge Seibel ordered service through the Marshals Service after Friedman received permission to proceed without paying filing fees.
Robert Friedman, Dr. Abraham Bartell, the United Jewish Federation of New York, the Clerk of Court, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
What happened
Friedman v. Bartell concerns Robert Friedman’s state-law lawsuit alleging that he was abused at Camp Hatikvah in 1982. Friedman is representing himself and was allowed to proceed without paying court fees. The opinion does not decide whether his allegations are true or whether his claims are legally valid.
The court ordered the Clerk of Court to issue summonses, complete service forms, and send the necessary papers to the U.S. Marshals Service so the Marshals can serve Dr. Abraham Bartell and the United Jewish Federation of New York. The service deadline was extended to 90 days after the summonses are issued. Friedman was told to request more time if service is not completed by then and to notify the court in writing if his address changes.
Judge Cathy Seibel issued the order on December 12, 2022. The order concerns only service of the lawsuit and related instructions; it does not resolve the underlying dispute.
The detailed version
- Friedman v. Bartell · No. 7:22-cv-07630
- Philip Halpern
- Dec. 12, 2022
Background
Robert Friedman, who is representing himself, invokes the court’s diversity-of-citizenship jurisdiction and brings state-law claims. He alleges that he was abused during the summer of 1982 while he was a camper at Camp Hatikvah in Westchester County. The defendants are Dr. Abraham Bartell and the United Jewish Federation of New York.
The court had previously granted Friedman permission to proceed without prepaying filing fees. In such cases, federal law requires the court to order service by the U.S. Marshals Service rather than requiring the plaintiff to arrange service himself.
Order
The court instructed the Clerk of Court to prepare a U.S. Marshals Service Process Receipt and Return form for each defendant, issue summonses, and deliver the necessary paperwork to the Marshals Service. The order identifies service addresses for Dr. Bartell at Westchester Medical Center and for the United Jewish Federation of New York.
The court stated that service must occur within 90 days after the summonses are issued. If service is not completed by that deadline, Friedman should request an extension. The court also instructed Friedman to notify it in writing if his address changes and warned that the action may be dismissed if he fails to do so. The Clerk was additionally directed to mail Friedman an information package.
Disposition and Significance
Judge Cathy Seibel entered an order directing the issuance and Marshals-service process. This was a procedural order about serving the defendants; it did not decide the merits of Friedman’s allegations or claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.