Murray v. Pratt
- James Oetken
- 1:22-cv-00638
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 1
In Murray v. Pratt, Judge Gorenstein ordered the Law Department to identify Officer Pratt and provide an address for service.
Robert Murray, the New York City Law Department, and the unidentified Corrections Officer Pratt.
What happened
In Murray v. Pratt, Robert Murray, identified in the caption as Leviticus Lucifer, sued under a federal civil-rights law. He alleged that defendants violated his civil rights while he was detained by the New York City Department of Corrections.
Murray proceeded without a lawyer and named Corrections Officer Pratt as a defendant. An earlier attempt to serve Pratt failed because officials could not determine which of several officers named Pratt was involved. Murray later filed an amended complaint naming Pratt again.
Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein ordered the New York City Law Department to identify Officer Pratt, provide Pratt’s badge number, and provide an address where Pratt could be served. The Law Department must give that information to Murray and the court by March 24, 2023.
The detailed version
- Murray v. Pratt · No. 1:22-cv-00638
- James Oetken
- Mar. 3, 2023
Background
Robert Murray, proceeding without a lawyer, brought an action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal law allowing claims against certain government actors for violating constitutional rights. He alleged that defendants violated his civil rights while he was detained by the New York City Department of Corrections. The opinion does not decide whether those allegations are true.
Service and Defendant Identification
Murray named Corrections Officer Pratt as a defendant. The court requested that Pratt waive service of the summons, but the attempted service was returned unexecuted because officials reported: “Cannot identify/More than one CO Pratt at EMTC.” Murray’s amended complaint again named C.O. Pratt.
The court cited Valentin v. Dinkins, which provides that a self-represented litigant is entitled to the district court’s assistance in identifying defendants. The court found that Murray had provided enough information for the City to identify C.O. Pratt.
Ruling
Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein ordered the New York City Law Department to determine Officer Pratt’s identity and badge number and the address where Pratt could be served. The Law Department was ordered to provide that information to Murray and the court by March 24, 2023. The order addressed identification and service of a defendant; it did not resolve the merits of Murray’s civil-rights claims.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.