Alli v. Palmer
- Paul Gardephe
- 1:23-cv-04699
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 5
In Alli v. Palmer, Judge Koeltl ordered service and identification steps for Umar Alli’s civil-rights lawsuit, without deciding its merits.
Umar Alli, the identified defendants, the unidentified correctional defendants whom the City must identify, the City of New York, and the City’s Department of Correction and Corporation Counsel.
What happened
In Alli v. Palmer, Umar Alli, representing himself, brought claims under federal civil-rights law and state law against New York City, correctional officers, and other unidentified defendants. The opinion says the claims concern encounters and uses of force on July 29 and July 31, 2020.
The court asked several identified defendants to waive formal delivery of the lawsuit papers and directed them to answer required prisoner-case discovery requests within 120 days. It also ordered the City’s lawyer to identify the unnamed defendants and provide service information. After receiving that information, Alli must file an amended complaint within 30 days; the court will then screen it.
Judge John G. Koeltl issued the order of service. The order manages service, discovery, and identification of defendants, but does not decide whether Alli’s claims are legally valid or whether he will win.
The detailed version
- Alli v. Palmer · No. 1:23-cv-04699
- Paul Gardephe
- July 5, 2023
Background
Umar Alli filed this case without a lawyer. The court construed his complaint as asserting claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal law allowing claims for violations of constitutional rights by state or local officials, and under state law. The defendants named in the complaint include ESU Officer Palmer, the City of New York, several unidentified ESU officers, an unidentified warden and deputy warden, ESU Captain Alexis, an unidentified MDC intake captain, and unidentified MDC Probe Team officers. The opinion states that “ESU” refers to the New York City Department of Correction’s Emergency Services Unit and that “MDC” refers to the Manhattan Detention Complex.
The complaint identifies events involving ESU officers on July 29, 2020, and the MDC Probe Team, an MDC intake captain, and a deputy warden on July 31, 2020. Alli sued the individual defendants in both their official and individual capacities. The court had previously allowed him to proceed without paying the filing fee in advance, while noting that prisoners remain responsible for the filing fee.
Court’s Directions
The court directed the Clerk of Court to notify the New York City Department of Correction and the New York City Law Department about the order. It requested that ESU Officer Palmer, the City of New York, the Warden of MDC, and ESU Captain Alexis waive service of summonses, meaning accept the lawsuit papers without formal personal service. It also directed those defendants to comply with Local Civil Rule 33.2, which requires responses to specified discovery requests in certain prisoner cases, within 120 days. Their responses must quote each request verbatim.
The court found that the complaint provided enough information for the City’s Corporation Counsel to identify the unnamed defendants. It directed the Corporation Counsel to determine their identities and, when appropriate, badge numbers and service addresses, and to provide that information to the court and Alli within 60 days. Within 30 days after receiving the information, Alli must file an amended complaint naming the newly identified defendants. The amended complaint will replace, rather than supplement, the original complaint. The court stated that it will screen the amended complaint and may later issue additional service and discovery directions.
The court also directed the Clerk to mail Alli an information package, the order, and a copy of the complaint to the City’s Corporation Counsel. The order provided information about the New York Legal Assistance Group clinic, which may offer limited assistance to people in civil cases who do not have lawyers.
Disposition and Significance
This is an order of service and case-management directions. The court did not dismiss the case, enter judgment, or decide the merits of Alli’s federal or state-law claims. The opinion does not state the ultimate legal validity of those claims. Judge John G. Koeltl signed the order.
Read the full 5-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.