Kenneth Massop v. Thomas Coughlin, Iii, Commissioner, E.S. Lefevre, Superintendent, Clinton Correctional Facility, and Michael K. Delisle, C.O.

Kenneth Massop, a state prisoner incarcerated at the Clinton County Correctional Facility in upstate New York, appeals from an order of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, which dismissed sua sponte Massop’s complaint before service of process was made upon defendants. Because the dismissal was premature, we vacate the district court’s order and remand the case for service and further proceedings.

Massop’s complaint, made on a standard form used in the Northern District, alleged in pertinent part:

on 5/7/84 at approximately 8:18 a.m. while I was talking to a…