Garcia v. 35 W. 9th Owners Co-op

Background

Jhen P. Garcia filed this action without a lawyer and was allowed to proceed without paying the filing fee. He seeks damages under 42 U.S.C. § 1981 and alleges claims that the court understood as potentially involving race or national-origin employment discrimination and retaliation under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1981; denial of overtime pay and retaliation under the Fair Labor Standards Act; employment discrimination and retaliation under New York State and New York City human-rights laws; and retaliation under New York Labor Law § 215.1.

Garcia named 34 W. 9th Owners Co-op, Maxwell-Kates, Inc., Arabella Bowen, and Joshua Holzer as defendants. The opinion describes Maxwell-Kates as apparently being a building-management corporation, Bowen as allegedly the Co-op’s president, and Holzer as allegedly either Maxwell-Kates’s president or vice president.

Request for counsel

Garcia asked the court to appoint a lawyer. The court explained that it considers factors including the apparent merits of the case, the person’s efforts to obtain a lawyer, and the person’s ability to gather facts and present the case without assistance. Because the proceedings were at an early stage and the court could not yet assess the merits, it denied Garcia’s request for appointment of counsel without prejudice to a later application asking the court to request volunteer pro bono counsel.

Service of the defendants

Because Garcia was permitted to proceed without paying the filing fee, the court directed the Clerk of Court to issue summonses, complete the required U.S. Marshals Service forms, and deliver the necessary papers to the Marshals Service so it could serve the complaint and summonses on the defendants. The court extended the time for service to 90 days after summonses are issued. It stated that Garcia should request more time if service was not completed within that period.

The court also directed Garcia to notify it in writing if his address changes and stated that the action may be dismissed if he fails to do so.

Disposition and classification

Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr. denied Garcia’s request for appointment of counsel without prejudice and directed the Clerk and Marshals Service to issue and serve the case papers. The order did not rule on the merits of Garcia’s employment, retaliation, or wage claims. The opinion contains an inconsistency: its caption and defendant discussion refer to “34 W. 9th Owners Co-op,” while the supplied case name and the service-address section refer to “35 W. 9th Owners Co-op.”