Lavi v. MUFG Bank

Background

Pierre Lavi, who is proceeding without a lawyer, brought the action invoking the court's diversity jurisdiction. He seeks to recover the balance held in a bank account maintained by Danamon Bank, which the caption describes as an instrumentality of MUFG Bank. The court had previously granted Lavi permission to proceed without prepaying filing fees.

Service of Process

Because Lavi was proceeding without prepaying fees, he could rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the defendants. The Marshals Service attempted service on MUFG Bank at 1221 Avenue of the Americas on November 3, 2022, but found no employees of the defendant at that building. On January 3, Lavi notified the court that service had been attempted at the wrong address. The court treated his letter as a request for another service attempt and for more time to complete service.

The court extended the service deadline to 90 days after the date of this order. It explained that Lavi could not have served the summons and complaint until the court reviewed the complaint and ordered the summons issued, and that the first service attempt had been unsuccessful.

Order

The Clerk of Court was instructed to issue a summons for MUFG Bank, complete the U.S. Marshals Service forms with MUFG Bank's service address, and deliver the necessary documents to the Marshals Service. The listed address was 1251 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020. The court also directed that a copy of the order be mailed to Lavi. If service was not completed within 90 days, Lavi was told to request an extension. The order further stated that he must notify the court in writing if his address changes and that the action may be dismissed if he fails to do so. Judge J. Paul Oetken did not decide the merits of Lavi's claim for the bank-account balance.