Oughman v. Hillsborough County Department of Corrections, Superintendent

Filing 6

ORDER Directing US Marshal to Make Service: the Clerk's office is directed to forward a blank summons form to plaintiff, who must complete and return the summons form for defendant Barnes within 10 days. The Clerk's office will issue the summons and forward to US Marshal's Service with copies of the complaint (doc nos. 1 and 3), the Report and Recommendation, and this order for service. So Ordered by Magistrate Judge Landya B. McCafferty. (jab)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
Mohamed Ouahman
v.

Civil. No. 11-cv-075-SM

James O’Mara, Superintendent,
Hillsborough County Department
of Corrections1
O R D E R
Mohamed Ouahman has filed a complaint (doc. no. 1) and an
addendum to the complaint (doc. no. 3),2 pursuant to 42 U.S.C.
§ 1983, asserting that his federal constitutional rights have
been violated during his pretrial detention at the Hillsborough
County House of Corrections (“HCHC”).

The matter comes before

the court for preliminary review to determine, among other
things, whether the complaint states any claim upon which relief
might be granted.

See 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a); Rule 4.3(d)(2) of

1

Aside from James O’Mara, no defendants are listed in the
caption of plaintiff’s complaint. The narrative of the
complaint, however, identifies Sgt. Barnes as an intended
defendant to this action. Accordingly, the court construes the
complaint as having named Barnes as a defendant.
2

The addendum (doc. no. 3) arrived at the court as a letter.
As the letter sought to supplement the factual allegations in
the complaint, the court has construed the document as an
addendum to the complaint. The complaint (doc. no. 1) and the
addendum (doc. no. 3) will be considered, in the aggregate, to
comprise the complaint in this matter for all purposes.

the Local Rules of the United States District Court for the
District of New Hampshire (“LR”).
In a report and recommendation issued simultaneously with
this order, the court has found that Ouahman has stated a claim
against Sgt. Barnes of the HCHC for a violation of his
Fourteenth Amendment due process rights by subjecting him to
punitive restrictive housing as a pretrial detainee.

As fully

explained in the report and recommendation, Ouahman has asserted
additional claims upon which relief might be granted, but has
failed to name defendants to those claims.

Those claims are as

follows:
●

Ouahman’s Fourteenth Amendment due process right not

to be punished as a pretrial detainee has been violated by: (a)
unhygienic conditions of confinement; (b) deprivation of food;
and (c) excessive force.
●

Ouahman’s right to practice his Muslim faith, as

guaranteed by the First Amendment and the Religious Land Use and
Institutionalized Persons Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc-1 et seq., has
been violated by HCHC officials denying him access to a Qur’an
and a prayer rug.
If Ouahman seeks to pursue these claims, he must move to
amend his complaint to name the individual defendants

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responsible for the rights violations alleged.3

In addition to

identifying each defendant by name, Ouahman must state in his
amended complaint, with specificity, what each defendant did or
failed to do that violated Ouahman’s rights.

Once Ouahman has

successfully moved to amend his complaint,4 the court will direct
service upon those defendants properly identified therein.
In the report and recommendation, the court has recommended
dismissal of Ouahman’s remaining claims.

The court has also

recommended that defendant James O’Mara be dismissed from the
action.
Service
Ouahman has not completed a summons forms for Sgt. Barnes,
the sole defendant against whom service is authorized at this
time.

The Clerk’s Office is directed to forward a blank summons

form to Ouahman.

Ouahman must, within ten days of receiving the

blank summons form, complete the summons form for Barnes and
return it to the Clerk’s Office.
Upon receipt of the completed summons form for Barnes, the
Clerk’s Office is directed to issue the summons and forward to
3

In the report and recommendation, the court notes that if
Ouahman does not have the names of the officers he seeks to sue,
he may request those names from Barnes in discovery once Barnes
has been served with the complaint.
4

Ouahman’s motion to amend the complaint should contain
completed summons forms for each defendant against whom he
wishes to pursue this action.
3

the United States Marshal for the District of New Hampshire (the
“U.S. Marshal’s office”): the summons; copies of the complaint
(doc. nos. 1 and 3); the report and recommendation issued this
date; and this order.

Upon receipt of the necessary

documentation, the U.S. Marshal’s office shall effect service
upon defendant.

See Fed. R. Civ. P. 4(c)(2).

Defendant is instructed to answer or otherwise plead within
twenty-one days of service.

See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(a)(1)(A).

Ouahman is instructed that all future pleadings, written
motions, notices, or similar papers shall be served directly on
the defendant by delivering or mailing the materials to him or
his attorney(s), pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 5(b).
SO ORDERED.

________________________________
Landya B. McCafferty
United States Magistrate Judge
Date: August 29, 2011
cc: Mohamed Ouahman, pro se
LBM:jba

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