Mullings v. Burnett
- Cathy Seibel
- 7:22-cv-07922
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Mullings v. Burnett, Judge Seibel ordered service on three defendants and declined to identify additional John Doe officers.
Andrew R. Mullings, Chad LeClair, J. Willson, Steve Farrell, the unidentified John Doe officers, the Clerk of Court, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
What happened
In Mullings v. Burnett, Andrew R. Mullings, who was representing himself, sued prison officials and others under a federal civil-rights law. He added Chad LeClair, J. Willson, and Steve Farrell as defendants and also named unidentified officers.
The court directed the Clerk of Court to prepare summonses and paperwork so the U.S. Marshals Service could serve LeClair, Willson, and Farrell. The court declined at this time to seek the identities of the remaining John Doe officers because Mullings did not provide allegations or information sufficient to identify them.
Judge Cathy Seibel also denied permission to proceed without paying fees for any appeal, finding that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. The order did not decide whether Mullings’s claims were legally valid.
The detailed version
- Mullings v. Burnett · No. 7:22-cv-07922
- Cathy Seibel
- May 1, 2023
Background
Andrew R. Mullings, who was representing himself, brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal law allowing certain civil-rights claims against state actors. He sought a court declaration and money damages. The complaint named identified officials and employees connected to Fishkill Correctional Facility, as well as unidentified correctional officers.
The court had previously directed the Clerk to issue summonses for the identified defendants and had directed the New York Attorney General to help identify unidentified officers. The Attorney General identified Chad LeClair as “CERT 17-28,” but reported that no specific officer could be identified with certainty based on Mullings’s additional information, although Mullings might have intended to proceed against Steve Farrell. Mullings’s amended complaint added LeClair, J. Willson, and Farrell and continued to name unidentified John Doe officers.
Court’s Rulings
Because Mullings had permission to proceed without prepaying the filing fee, the court directed service through the U.S. Marshals Service. The court ordered the Clerk to complete the required service forms, issue summonses, and deliver the necessary documents to the Marshals Service for service on LeClair, Willson, and Farrell.
The court declined, at this time, to issue an order seeking the identities of John Doe officers 1 through 38. It found that Mullings made no allegations against the remaining John Doe defendants and did not provide enough information for the Attorney General or the New York Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to identify them.
The court also certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal. The order did not rule on the merits of Mullings’s underlying civil-rights claims.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.