Lu v. Rocah
- Nelson Roman
- 7:22-cv-09715
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Lu v. Rocah, Judge Roman ordered U.S. Marshals to serve newly added defendant Spano in Lu’s civil-rights case.
Jianqiao Lu, newly added defendant Joseph K. Spano, the Clerk of Court, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
What happened
Lu v. Rocah concerns Jianqiao Lu’s pro se lawsuit challenging parts of New York’s Penal Law under a federal civil-rights statute. Lu is held as a pretrial detainee and names officials in their official capacities.
Lu amended the complaint to add Joseph K. Spano, Commissioner of the Westchester County Department of Corrections. Because Lu was allowed to proceed without paying filing fees in advance, the court said the Clerk and U.S. Marshals Service must handle service for him.
Judge Nelson S. Roman ordered the Clerk to issue Spano a summons, complete the required service form, and provide the documents to the Marshals Service. The order addressed service only and did not decide whether Lu’s constitutional challenge was valid.
The detailed version
- Lu v. Rocah · No. 7:22-cv-09715
- Nelson Roman
- Apr. 13, 2023
Background
Jianqiao Lu filed this case without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal law allowing certain civil-rights claims against government officials. Lu is held as a pretrial detainee in the Westchester County Jail and challenges the constitutionality of certain sections of the New York Penal Law. The defendants named in the original complaint were Miriam E. Rocah, Catalina Blanco Buitrago, Letitia A. James, and Kathy C. Hochul, each sued in an official capacity.
The court had previously allowed Lu to proceed in forma pauperis, meaning without paying filing fees in advance. Lu later filed an amended complaint adding Joseph K. Spano, identified as Commissioner of the Westchester County Department of Corrections, as a defendant.
Service of the Amended Complaint
The court explained that a plaintiff allowed to proceed without prepaying fees may rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the defendants. The court also extended the service deadline so that the amended complaint must be served within 90 days after the summons is issued. If service is not completed within that period, Lu should ask for more time. The court also instructed Lu to notify the court in writing if Lu’s address changes and warned that the case could be dismissed if Lu fails to do so.
Order
The court directed the Clerk of Court to issue a summons for Joseph K. Spano, complete a U.S. Marshals Service process form with Spano’s address, and provide the necessary documents to the Marshals Service. The Clerk was also directed to mail Lu a copy of the order and record that mailing on the docket.
This supplemental order concerns service of process—the formal delivery of the lawsuit and related documents to a defendant. It does not decide the merits of Lu’s constitutional challenge or any other claim.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.