Barzee v. Abdulla
- Philip Halpern
- 7:23-cv-02328
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Barzee v. Abdulla, Judge Halpern ordered service on three newly identified defendants through the Marshals Service and denied fee-free appeal status.
Saio Barzee; newly identified defendants Officer C. Nickens, Officer P. Byrd, and Sgt. Gonzalez; the Clerk of Court; and the U.S. Marshals Service.
What happened
In Barzee v. Abdulla, Saio Barzee alleges under a federal civil-rights law that defendants violated his rights while he was confined at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. The court had already allowed him to proceed without paying filing fees and had issued service instructions for other defendants.
The New York Attorney General’s Office identified Officer C. Nickens, Officer P. Byrd, and Sgt. Gonzalez as previously unnamed defendants. The court directed the Clerk of Court to prepare summonses and service forms and send the necessary papers to the U.S. Marshals Service so those defendants could be served.
Judge Philip M. Halpern also stated that service must occur within 90 days after the summons is issued, allowed Barzee to request more time if needed, and denied fee-free status for any appeal from this order. The order did not decide whether Barzee’s underlying allegations were valid.
The detailed version
- Barzee v. Abdulla · No. 7:23-cv-02328
- Philip Halpern
- July 6, 2023
Background
Saio Barzee brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal law that allows claims against state officials for violating constitutional rights. He alleges that defendants violated his rights while he was confined at Sing Sing Correctional Facility. The opinion states that Barzee was incarcerated at Lakeview Shock Incarceration Correctional Facility when the order was issued.
The court had previously allowed Barzee to proceed without prepaying filing fees. It had issued service instructions for several named defendants and a procedure for identifying unnamed defendants described in the complaint. On June 30, 2023, the New York Attorney General’s Office identified three previously unnamed defendants: Officer C. Nickens, Officer P. Byrd, and Sgt. Gonzalez.
Service order
Because Barzee was allowed to proceed without prepaying fees, the court stated that he could rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to serve process. The Clerk of Court was instructed to complete a U.S. Marshals Service Process Receipt and Return form for Nickens, Byrd, and Gonzalez, issue summonses, and deliver the paperwork needed for the Marshals Service to serve them.
The court stated that if the complaint was not served within 90 days after the summons was issued, Barzee should request an extension of time. It also directed Barzee to notify the court in writing of any address change and stated that the action could be dismissed if he failed to do so. The Clerk was directed to mail the order and complaint to the New York State Attorney General and to send Barzee an information package.
Disposition
The court ordered the Clerk of Court to issue the summonses, complete the service forms with the addresses for Nickens, Byrd, and Gonzalez, and provide the required documents to the U.S. Marshals Service. The court also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied Barzee permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. This order addressed service and appeal-fee status; it did not decide the merits of Barzee’s civil-rights allegations.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.