Lurch, Jr. v. The City of New York
- Ona Wang
- 1:23-cv-05249
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Lurch, Jr. v. City of New York, Judge Wang granted summonses for three NYPD defendants and denied permission to appeal without fees.
The order directly affects Robert Derek Lurch, Jr., the three NYPD defendants named for service—Michael Griffin, Md Islamsarker, and Mihai Tudor—and the Clerk of Court and U.S. Marshals Service responsible for carrying out service.
What happened
In Lurch, Jr. v. The City of New York, Robert Derek Lurch, Jr. is representing himself in a civil-rights case under federal law, alleging that the defendants violated his constitutional rights. The court had already allowed him to proceed without paying filing fees in the case.
The court granted the motion to issue summonses for NYPD Officer Michael Griffin, Officer Md Islamsarker, and Sergeant Mihai Tudor. It directed the Clerk of Court to prepare the required forms and paperwork so the U.S. Marshals Service could serve those defendants.
Judge Ona T. Wang also ruled that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal. The Clerk was directed to send the order to Lurch and close one docket entry.
The detailed version
- Lurch, Jr. v. The City of New York · No. 1:23-cv-05249
- Ona Wang
- Feb. 6, 2024
Background
Robert Derek Lurch, Jr., proceeding without a lawyer, brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that the defendants violated his constitutional rights. The court had previously granted him permission to proceed without paying filing fees. In an earlier order, Judge Rearden directed defense counsel to identify the police officers Lurch sought to sue, provide their badge numbers, and identify addresses where they could be served.
Defense counsel supplied that information for NYPD Officer Michael Griffin, Officer Md Islamsarker, and Sergeant Mihai Tudor. The parties then asked the court to issue summonses for those three defendants.
Ruling
Judge Ona T. Wang granted the motion to issue summonses. The court directed the Clerk of Court to complete U.S. Marshals Service Process Receipt and Return forms, issue the summonses, and provide the Marshals Service with the paperwork needed to serve the three NYPD defendants. Because Lurch had been allowed to proceed without paying filing fees, the court explained that he could rely on the court and the Marshals Service to carry out service.
Appeal and Other Directions
The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from this order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied permission to proceed without paying filing fees for an appeal. The Clerk was directed to serve Lurch with a copy of the order and close ECF No. 35.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.