Trenton, NJ – A federal judge has rejected an attempt by Abussamaa Rasul Ramziddin, a self-represented plaintiff, to win a default judgment against the Lawrence Township Police Department and several municipal officials over allegations of a fabricated accident report.
Ramziddin filed suit under federal civil rights laws and New Jersey state law, claiming that a December 2022 crash report prepared by Patrolman Owen P. Cutaneo and an unnamed reviewer was falsified. He further alleged supervisors failed to train or discipline involved officers, and that the inaccurate report drove up his insurance premiums.
According to the filings, Ramziddin complained to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, which triggered an internal affairs review. Investigators later acknowledged errors in the original report and produced a revised version, though Ramziddin insists the corrected report remained incomplete. He also alleges the township provided him a “defective DVD” in response to an Open Public Records Act request for video of the crash.
After filing an amended complaint in November 2024, the court granted Ramziddin in forma pauperis status and ordered the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the defendants. By late January 2025, records show service had been completed on the police department, township officials, and the municipal clerk.
Despite the defendants not filing a formal response, U.S. District Judge Georgette Castner denied Ramziddin’s unopposed motion for default judgment. The court determined that the plaintiff had not met the necessary legal standard for such a ruling, emphasizing that default judgment is considered an extreme remedy.
The decision leaves Ramziddin’s case pending but forces him to press forward with litigation on the merits rather than obtaining a quick win by default.
The bid for an automatic victory in court has now been shut down.
