Johnson v. UMG Recording, Inc.
- John Cronan
- 1:23-cv-03021
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
Johnson v. Warner Bros. Records: Judge Cronan ordered Johnson to provide service addresses within 30 days or face dismissal without prejudice.
Todd Lorenzo Johnson must provide addresses where the defendants can be served within 30 days; otherwise, the court stated that it would dismiss the action without prejudice unless he showed good cause.
What happened
In Todd Lorenzo Johnson v. Warner Bros. Records, Inc. et al., Johnson, who is representing himself, brought copyright-infringement claims and received permission to proceed without paying court fees in advance.
Because Johnson was proceeding without prepaying fees, the court said the court and U.S. Marshals Service would handle service. Johnson had not provided addresses for the defendants, so the court ordered him to provide those addresses within 30 days.
Judge John P. Cronan said the court would issue summonses and direct service once it received the addresses. If Johnson did not comply and could not show a good reason, the court would dismiss the action without prejudice. The court also denied fee-free status for any appeal.
The detailed version
- Johnson v. UMG Recording, Inc. · No. 1:23-cv-03021
- John Cronan
- May 4, 2023
Background
Todd Lorenzo Johnson, proceeding without a lawyer, brought copyright-infringement claims against the defendants. The court had previously allowed him to proceed without prepaying filing fees.
Service of Process
Because Johnson was allowed to proceed without prepaying fees, the court explained that he could rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the defendants with the summons and complaint. Johnson had not provided addresses where the defendants could be served.
The court ordered Johnson to provide those service addresses within 30 days. After receiving the information, the court said it would direct the issuance of summonses and service by the Marshals Service. The court also noted that the normal 90-day service period would run from the date the summonses were issued because Johnson could not serve them before the court reviewed the complaint and ordered their issuance.
Disposition
The court directed Johnson to provide the defendants’ service addresses within 30 days. If he failed to comply and could not show good cause for the failure, the court would dismiss the action without prejudice. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Johnson permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. The order did not decide the copyright-infringement claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.