Montgomery v. New York Presbyterian Hospital
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:23-cv-09201
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Montgomery v. New York Presbyterian Hospital, Judge Engelmayer ordered Marshals Service to serve the defendant in Montgomery’s employment case.
Crystal Montgomery and New York Presbyterian Hospital; the order primarily directs court personnel and the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the defendant.
What happened
In Montgomery v. New York Presbyterian Hospital, Crystal Montgomery, who is representing herself, sued New York Presbyterian Hospital under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The complaint could also be read to raise claims under New York State and New York City human-rights laws. Montgomery had previously received permission to proceed without paying court fees in advance.
Because Montgomery received that permission, the court explained that the U.S. Marshals Service must handle service of the lawsuit. The court directed the Clerk of Court to prepare the service form, issue a summons, and give the necessary papers to the Marshals Service.
Judge Paul Engelmayer ordered those service steps and stated that Montgomery should request more time if the complaint is not served within 90 days after the summons is issued. He also required her to notify the court of any address change and denied permission to appeal without paying fees because the court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Montgomery v. New York Presbyterian Hospital · No. 1:23-cv-09201
- Paul Engelmayer
- Oct. 24, 2023
Background
Crystal Montgomery, proceeding without a lawyer, brought an action against New York Presbyterian Hospital under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The court said the complaint could also be construed as asserting claims under the New York State Human Rights Law and the New York City Human Rights Law.
In an earlier order, the court allowed Montgomery to proceed without prepaying filing fees. That status requires the court to arrange service through the U.S. Marshals Service.
Ruling
The court instructed the Clerk of Court to issue a summons for New York Presbyterian Hospital, complete a U.S. Marshals Service Process Receipt and Return form with the defendant’s address, and deliver the required documents to the Marshals Service so it could serve the defendant. The court stated that if service was not completed within 90 days after the summons was issued, Montgomery should request an extension of time. It also required Montgomery to notify the court in writing if her address changed and warned that the action could be dismissed if she failed to do so.
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and therefore denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The case remained under the pretrial supervision of Judge Wang. The order addressed service and appeal-fee status, not the merits of Montgomery’s discrimination claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.