McPhee v. Laino

Background

Aasim McPhee, proceeding without a lawyer and receiving permission to proceed without prepaying filing fees, filed a second amended complaint on July 5, 2023. The pleading added Corrections Officers Ileshema Thomas, Curtis Egloff, Brian Collins, Latanya Taylor, Jacqueline Webber, Brendan Haberin, and Melissa Cuomo as defendants.

The court directed the Clerk and the U.S. Marshals Service to prepare and carry out service on the newly identified defendants. Service was completed for Collins, Cuomo, Egloff, Thomas, and Webber. Service attempts for Haberin and Taylor were unsuccessful because the correctional facility reported that they were not on the current duty roster.

The court then directed the New York Attorney General’s Office to report whether it would accept service for Haberin and Taylor or provide alternative addresses. The office later reported that service could be made through the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision’s Office of Counsel. The court issued new summonses and paperwork, but the docket still did not show that Haberin and Taylor had been served.

Rulings

The court extended the deadline under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(m) to serve the summonses and second amended complaint on Haberin and Taylor to March 8, 2024. Because McPhee was proceeding without prepaying filing fees, the court stated that he was entitled to rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to complete service and did not need to take any action to serve those defendants.

The court also stayed—that is, paused—the time for all defendants to answer, file motions, or otherwise respond to the second amended complaint pending a further court order. The court certified that any appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. The order did not decide the underlying claims.