McCallum v. The City of New York
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:22-cv-00081
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In McCallum v. New York City Police Department, Judge Lehrburger ordered Marshals Service to serve Gonzalez and set service duties for McCallum.
Douglas McCallum and Alberto Gonzalez, as well as the Clerk of Court and the U.S. Marshals Service involved in serving the lawsuit papers.
What happened
In McCallum v. New York City Police Department, an earlier attempt to serve Lieutenant Alberto Gonzalez failed because he no longer worked at the listed address. Defense counsel provided a new address.
The court ordered the Clerk to prepare a new service form, issue a summons, and give the necessary papers to the U.S. Marshals Service so Gonzalez could be served at One Police Plaza. The order did not decide the underlying claims.
Judge Robert W. Lehrburger also stated that McCallum, who was representing himself, was responsible for completing service within 90 days after the summons was issued or requesting more time if needed. McCallum must also notify the court in writing of any address change, and the court may dismiss the action if he does not do so.
The detailed version
- McCallum v. The City of New York · No. 1:22-cv-00081
- Paul Engelmayer
- Mar. 6, 2023
Background
An earlier service order, issued on November 8, 2022, was intended to help Douglas McCallum serve Defendant Alberto Gonzalez. The U.S. Marshals Service attempted service on January 12, 2023, but could not complete it because Gonzalez did not work at the address listed in the earlier order. Defense counsel later provided a new address.
Order
The court ordered the Clerk of Court to complete a new U.S. Marshals Service Process Receipt and Return Form for Lieutenant Alberto Gonzalez at One Police Plaza, Room 110A, New York, New York 10038. The Clerk was also ordered to issue a summons and provide the Marshals Service with the paperwork needed to serve the defendants.
Deadlines and responsibilities
The order states that McCallum, who was proceeding without a lawyer, was responsible for ensuring that service occurred within 90 days after the summons was issued. If necessary, he was to request an extension of the service deadline. He also had to notify the court in writing if his address changed. The court stated that it could dismiss the action if he failed to do so.
Disposition
This was an order concerning service of process—the formal delivery of lawsuit papers—not a decision on the merits of McCallum's claims. Judge Robert W. Lehrburger signed the order on March 6, 2023.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.