CASE NO. 1:2024cv07151

Townsend v. Morrissey et al

New York Eastern District Court

Read the complaint filed against Defendants

Theresa (Tracie) Egan Morrissey, Rich Juzwiak, & Something Else Media LLC.

How I Filed a Copyright Infringement Lawsuit in

Federal District Court

I am not an attorney and this is not legal advice. This information is strictly for educational purposes only.

  1. I first had to determine which "jurisdiction" or state to file in. If the Defendants and I were in the same state, say California, then I could have filed there. However, because the Defendants and I are in different states determining proper jurisdiction is critical.

    I chose to file in the state of New York where the Defendants reside and conduct business in to avoid a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction if filed in California. The address to their LLC and home is in Brooklyn, NY which falls in the Eastern District Federal Court of New York. The court is conveniently located less than 4 miles from Tracie's home and the address for her and Rich's LLC, Something Else Media.

  1. Once a jurisdiction was determined, since I am filing Pro Se or representing myself without an attorney, nearly all of the Federal District Courts have their own special filing procedures for Pro Se Plaintiffs. Which, unfortunately for me who is used to filing cases electronically through Pacer, I had to physically mail in the initial complaint to the Pro Se office of the district court.

List of Pro Se Rules & Offices at Various Federal District Courts

Every single district court has it's own set of Pro Se rules and filing procedures and each court is different. It was incredibly important for me to follow the rules and filing procedures for the court's Pro Se office. There is a Pro Se office or assistance center for all District Courts and they are incredibly helpful.

Here is list I pulled of various Pro Se Offices in District Courts. To find the Pro Se office in your jurisdiction, or the jurisdiction of the Defendants, simply Google: "Pro Se Office District Court" then the state you are looking for. Keep in mind some states have several district courts, so make sure you have the correct one.

  1. Once I had determined proper jurisdiction for filing the case, and I thouroughly reviewed the requirements of that Federal District Court, the next step was for me to prepare the required documents.

    The Federal Courts have three main required components:

    1. The complaint, which outlines why I was filing the case, the parties involved, why the jurisdiction I chose was selected, the cause of action or statute/law that I am bringing the case forward on. For this case, I am simply filing based upon Copyright Infringement, 17 U.S.C. §§ 106, 501. This district court did not require I use their Pro Se complaint form, so I drafted my own on pleading paper I use for drafting other complaints for the attorneys I work for. However, each district court is different. A district court in California requires you use their complaint form for filing, so make sure you know the pro se rules for the court you are filing in and be sure to include the Certification and Closing under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 that I have as the last two paragraphs in my complaint.

    2. Civil Cover Sheet. Every single Federal District Court requires a completed civil cover sheet and each one can be slightly different.

    3. Fees. Payment of the filing fees of $405 is required or the filing of an IFP which is for those who do not have the money to prepay these fees. Given that I have not been able to secure full-time employment for over a year due to Tracie and Rich, I had to file an IFP.

*Please Note: If you file an IFP with your case, the judge may not review it for months. You will still be granted a case number and your case will have been filed as of the date it was received by the court (for any statute of limitation deadlines), but a summons (which summons the Defendant's to court) will not be issued until the judge decides on the IFP or you send in the prepayment of filing fees.

  1. If you prepayed the fees: Once the case is filed the judge will issue a summons. This is when you will need to serve the Defendant's by hiring a process server. Once the Defendants have been served the proof of service by the process server will need to be filed with the court (this is typically done by the process server).

  2. If you filed with an IFP: Once your IFP is approved, the court will have the U.S. Marshall serve the Defendants, but check with the Pro Se office to determine how service is done with an IFP.

  3. After the case is filed. The next step is to wait for the Defendant's response which is required in 21 days or the filing of a Motion for Extension of Time to answer.

    UPDATE 11/05/2024

  4. I received Notice of Deficient Filing from the court for not providing the address for Tracie Morrissey and Rich Juzwiak. Since I typically file these cases from a law firm, an address is not provided to the court for the Defendants, as the firm is responsible for locating and serving them the summons. However, since I filed an IFP, the Court will send the U.S. Marshals to serve the Defendants the summons. I responded as soon as I noticed the letter in Pacer with the following: PLAINTIFF’S RESPONSE TO COURT’S REQUEST FOR DEFENDANTS THERESA EGAN MORRISSEY AND RICH JUZWIAK’S ADDRESS.

    1. Lesson Learned: Make sure if you file Pro Se, that you put ALL of the Defendants addresses in the complaint. I only included the LLC, not thinking to be more specific that the LLC address is also their home and business address for Tracie and Rich.

    UPDATE 11/21/2024

  5. Amazing, the IFP was reviewed in only 5 weeks! The review of the IFP was approved.

  6. Summons issued: A summons was issued and United States Marshals Service was sent to serve the Defendants by December 20, 2024.

  7. Consenting for Electronic Service: The Magistrate Judge encouraged Consenting for Electronic Service of Orders, which is not allowed during the initial filing of the Complaint. The form to consent for electronic service of orders and notices issued by the court can be found here. This will allow for me to simply check for updates through my Pacer account and/or accept service to my email address.

    UPDATE 12/20/2024

  8. The Defendant's hired a high powered and extremely expensive national law firm, Davis Wright Tremaine which successfully defended Sacha Baron Cohen in a $95 million defamation suit, to defend themselves in court against little me. :) The attorney asked for an extension to file the Defendant's response to the complaint, which I consented to and they filed the extension request with the court. I am not identifying the attorney for privacy reasons.

BE RESPECTFUL TO THE JUDGE!

Know the local rules.

Local rules are a set of specific procedural guidelines set by individual courts to streamline the process. They include procedures for filing, discovery, scheduling, practice for motions, etc. After you file your initial complaint, call the Pro Se office and ask where you can find the local rules for the judge assigned to your case.

For the Eastern District of New York they house their local rules for each Judge here. You will select the Judge presiding over your case, scroll down to Motions, then click on Individual Motion Practices and Rules.

Respect the Judge, Know their Rules!

More updates coming soon...

Every Step in this Case Will be Posted Here.

Copyright © Desirée Guerrière Townsend. All Rights Reserved.