Agee v. Cuomo

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. New York
DecidedOctober 10, 2019
Docket9:19-cv-00057
StatusUnknown

This text of Agee v. Cuomo (Agee v. Cuomo) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Agee v. Cuomo, (N.D.N.Y. 2019).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK J'KENDRIC JIRELLE AGEE, Plaintiff,

v. 9:19-CV-0057 (BKS/ATB)

MITCHELL, et al., Defendants. APPEARANCES: J'KENDRIC JIRELLE AGEE 17-B-0759 Clinton Correctional Facility P.O. Box 2000 Dannemora, NY 12929 BRENDA K. SANNES United States District Judge DECISION AND ORDER I. INTRODUCTION Pro se plaintiff J'kendric Jirelle Agee ("plaintiff") commenced this civil rights action on or about January 16, 2019. See Dkt. Nos. 1-4. In plaintiff's 88-page original complaint, he identified 30 defendants and purported to assert various constitutional causes of action against them. See generally Dkt. No. 1. On April 24, 2019, the Court issued a Decision and Order ("April Order") pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915 ("Section 1915") and 28 U.S.C. § 1915A ("Section 1915A") granting plaintiff leave to proceed in the action in forma pauperis ("IFP"), denying his application for the appointment of pro bono counsel, and accepting plaintiff's original complaint for filing only with respect to plaintiff's (1) Eighth Amendment excessive force and failure to intervene claims against two defendants, (2) First Amendment retaliation claims asserted against three defendants, and (3) Fourteenth Amendment equal protection claim against one defendant. Dkt. No. 11 ("Apr. Order") at 32.1 On June 12, 2019, the Court received a 127-page amended complaint from plaintiff.

Dkt. No. 14 ("Am. Compl."). Attached to the amended complaint are 23 exhibits. Dkt. Nos. 14-1 – 14-7 ("Exhs. Parts I-VII").2 The Clerk has forwarded the amended complaint to the Court for review. II. DISCUSSION A. Legal Standard The legal standard governing the review of a pro se inmate-plaintiff's complaint pursuant to Sections 1915 and 1915A was discussed at length in the April Order and will not be restated in this Decision and Order. See Apr. Order at 3-5.

B. Summary of the Amended Complaint Plaintiff's 127-page amended complaint alleges wrongdoing that occurred while he was incarcerated in Auburn Correctional Facility ("Auburn C.F."), a prison operated by the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision ("DOCCS"), and

1 The page numbers cited to in this Decision and Order correspond with those generated by the Court's electronic filing system. 2 Plaintiff's submission did not include any exhibits identified as "C" or "D." See Exhs. Part I. Some of the exhibits that were attached to plaintiff's original complaint were not submitted as exhibits to the amended complaint. Because, as will be discussed below, the Court accepts the amended complaint for filing, and out of special solicitude to plaintiff as a pro se litigant, the Court has directed the Clerk to append to the amended complaint those exhibits plaintiff attached to his original complaint but did not attach to his amended complaint. Those exhibits are now all encompassed on the docket in Docket Entry No. 14. For the sake of clarity, the Court has appended to this Decision and Order a full list of exhibits that are now attached to the amended complaint. 2 Cayuga County Jail ("CCJ"), a prison operated by Cayuga County. See generally Am. Compl. As defendants, the amended complaint specifically names 14 individuals and another 13 individuals are identified as "Doe" defendants.3 Id. For ease of reference, set forth below is a list of the 27 defendants identified in the amended complaint, as well as

her/his job title to the extent it can be discerned in the amended pleading: 1. Anthony Annucci, Acting DOCCS Commissioner 2. Joseph Bellnier, Deputy DOCCS Commissioner of Correctional Facilities 3. Harold Graham, Auburn C.F. Superintendent 4. E. Fagan, Auburn C.F. Deputy Superintendent of Security4 5. John Doe No. 2, Evidence Control Supervisor 6. John Doe No. 3, Auburn C.F. Criminal Prosecutor Liaison 7. Troy Mitchell, Auburn C.F. Lieutenant ("Lt.") 8. Kevin Ashby, Auburn C.F. Correctional Officer ("C.O.") 9. Nathaniel Sweet, Auburn C.F. C.O. 10. Keith Vincent, Auburn C.F. C.O. 11. John Doe No. 4, Auburn C.F. C.O. 12. John Doe No. 5, Auburn C.F. C.O. 13. John Doe No. 6, Auburn C.F. C.O. 14. John Doe No. 7, Auburn C.F. C.O. 15. John Doe No. 8, Auburn C.F. C.O. 16. John Doe No. 9, Auburn C.F. C.O. 17. John Doe No. 10, Auburn C.F. Technical Security Specialist 18. John Doe No. 11 19. John Doe No. 12 20. Mrs. Wade, CCJ C.O. 21. Timothy Quinn, Auburn C.F. Lt. 22. Ray Vanfleet, Auburn C.F. Lt. 23. Michael Quimette, Auburn C.F. Lt.5 24. Sherri Guzylak, Auburn C.F. Inmate Records Coordinator II 3 The caption of the amended complaint only lists 21 defendants. Am. Compl. at 1-2. The remaining defendants are identified throughout the body of the amended pleading. See id. at 45 n.3, 51 n.4, 59 n.7, 61 n.8. 4 Defendant Fagan is referenced in plaintiff's amended complaint both as "John Doe No. 1" and "E. Fagan." See Am. Compl. at 59. This Decision and Order will refer to that individual as "defendant Fagan." 5 Plaintiff's amended complaint and the exhibits attached to the amended complaint are not consistent with respect to the spelling of this individual's last name. Compare Am. Compl. at 45 n.3 ("Lt. Michael Quimette") with Exhs. Part I at 10 (To/From memorandum dated Feb. 29, 2016, authored by "Michael Ouimette Lt."). For the sake of consistency, the Court will refer to this individual as "defendant Quimette" in this Decision and Order and on the docket. 3 25. John Doe No. 13, Auburn C.F. Supervisor 26. Jeremiah Brooks, Auburn C.F. Captain 27. John Doe No. 14, Auburn C.F. Hearing Officer Id.6 The following facts are set forth as alleged by plaintiff in his amended complaint. 1. Auburn C.F. a. Discovery of Weapon At approximately 9:20AM on February 28, 2016, ten days before plaintiff was scheduled to be released from DOCCS's custody, defendants Sweet and Ashby arrived at plaintiff's cell to escort him to recreation. Am. Compl. at 4. Defendants Sweet and Ashby conducted a pat-frisk of plaintiff before "walk[ing] [him] down the company where their [sic] were several other C.O.'s [sic]." Id. At some point during the escort, defendant Vincent directed plaintiff "to put his hands behind his back." Id. at 5. Plaintiff was then handcuffed and escorted to the Special Housing Unit ("SHU"). Id. Before taking plaintiff to SHU,

defendant Vincent told defendant Vanfleet that he had found a weapon in plaintiff's boot. Id. Plaintiff "became very sad" when he heard what defendant Vincent said to defendant Vanfleet, and, for that reason, plaintiff "had to be taken" to the mental health unit ("MHU"). Id. Although plaintiff alleges having no recollection or knowledge of receiving a misbehavior report while at Auburn C.F. accusing him of possessing a weapon on February 28, 2016, Am. Compl. at 7, one of the exhibits to the amended pleading reflects that defendant Vincent authored an inmate misbehavior report concerning the incident. Exhs.

6 The Clerk of the Court is respectfully directed to modify the docket sheet to include the above-listed defendants. 4 Part VII at 7. Prison officials also generated "prison disciplinary documents" detailing defendant Vincent's allegation that he found a weapon on plaintiff's person on that date. Am. Compl. at 6; see also Exhs. Part I at 4-8, 10, 12. The exhibits attached to plaintiff's amended complaint suggest that the "prison disciplinary documents" include (1) an unusual incident report, (2) a To/From memorandum from defendant Vincent to defendant Vanfleet, (3) a

To/From memorandum from defendant Vanfleet to defendant Quinn, and (4) a To/From memorandum from defendant Quimette to defendant Fagan. Exhs. Part I at 4-8, 10.

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Agee v. Cuomo, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/agee-v-cuomo-nynd-2019.