Avent v. Keybank

District Court, S.D. New York·Decided April 1, 2021·No. 1:21-cv-01466·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK REUBEN AVENT, Plaintiff, -against- KEYBANK; UNKNOWN SUPERVISOR JAY 21-CV-01466 (CM) OF KEY BANK; UNKNOWN REP OF KEY BANK JAY; ROBERTA REARDON, NYS ORDER OF DISMISSAL WITH LEAVE TO DEPT. OF LABOR SUPERINTENDENT; REPLEAD KERRI LOVELAND, UNKNOWN NYS DEPT. OF LABOR EMPLOYEES; 2/5/2021 UNKNOWN KEYBANK REP, Defendants. COLLEEN McMAHON, Chief United States District Judge: Plaintiff, appearing pro se, brings this action alleging that Defendants violated his federally protected rights. By order dated March 1, 2021, the Court granted Plaintiff’s request to proceed without prepayment of fees, that is, in forma pauperis. For the reasons set forth below, the Court dismisses Plaintiff’s complaint with leave to replead. STANDARD OF REVIEW The Court must dismiss an in forma pauperis complaint, or any portion of the complaint, that is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted, or seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B); see Livingston v. Adirondack Beverage Co., 141 F.3d 434, 437 (2d Cir. 1998). The Court must also dismiss a complaint when the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(h)(3). While the law mandates dismissal on any of these grounds, the Court is obliged to construe pro se pleadings liberally, Harris v. Mills, 572 F.3d 66, 72 (2d Cir. 2009), and interpret them to raise the “strongest [claims] that they suggest,” Triestman v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons, 470 F.3d 471, 474 (2d Cir. 2006) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted) (emphasis in original). But the “special solicitude” in pro se cases, id. at 475 (citation omitted), has its limits – to state a claim, pro se pleadings still must comply with Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil

Procedure, which requires a complaint to make a short and plain statement showing that the pleader is entitled to relief. Moreover, the exact degree of solicitude that should be afforded to a pro se litigant in any given case depends upon a variety of factors, including the procedural context and relevant characteristics of the particular litigant. Tracy v. Freshwater, 623 F.3d 90 (2d Cir. 2010). A frequent pro se litigant may be charged with knowledge of particular legal requirements. See Sledge v. Kooi, 564 F.3d 105, 109-110 (2d Cir. 2009) (discussing circumstances where frequent pro se litigant may be charged with knowledge of particular legal requirements). BACKGROUND Named as Defendants in this complaint are the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Labor (DOL) Roberta Reardon; DOL employee Kerri Loveland; Keybank; a

Keybank representative named Jay; and Doe defendants at the DOL and Keybank. The complaint sets forth the following allegations. On December 22, 2019,1 the New York State Department of Labor (DOL) “stopped” the “electronic transfer” of Plaintiff’s unemployment benefits “for an unknown reason.” (ECF 2 ¶ 4.) Plaintiff twice updated his banking information, but instead of sending the funds to Plaintiff’s

1 Plaintiff may have intended to write 2020. bank — Green Dot Bank — the DOL sent them to “their third party bank,” KeyBank2benefits.2 (Id. ¶¶ 5, 7.) Plaintiff contacted Keybank in early 2021 and was “advised that he had $1,200 or so” in his account. But Plaintiff does not have a Keybank card because he has used Green Dot Bank for over two years. Plaintiff did not authorize the DOL to give Keybank control over his

benefits, and he did not “waive his financial or/and property rights of his benefit funds over to” Keybank. (Id. ¶ 8.) Plaintiff asserts that he has been denied his “federal stimulus” and “unemployment funds” since December 25, 2020. A Keybank representative told Plaintiff to contact the DOL to fix the problem. But a DOL employee told Plaintiff that he was “prohibited from inquiring about any funds already deposited in his account as a blanket policy,” that he had “no rights to such funds,” and that he would have to “call them” to get a bank card. (Id. ¶ 10.) A replacement Keybank card was apparently mailed to Plaintiff, but he did not receive it. Plaintiff alleges that in the past, Defendants had “maliciously” sent him a replacement card to an outdated address. (Id. ¶ 9.) According to Plaintiff, Defendants are retaliating against him for “prior litigation” he

filed against the DOL and Target. In that action, Plaintiff alleged that the DOL and Target conspired to intimidate him because he was pursuing an employment discrimination claim against Target. Plaintiff alleges that the DOL knew that he had changed his address, “as they filed fraud charges against” him surrounding his address change . . . which was the subject of [his] prior lawsuit.”3 (Id. ¶ 6 and n.2.)

2 An unemployment benefits recipient may choose to have his funds deposited into his own bank account, or into a Keybank account. See https://dol.ny.gov/unemployment-insurance- payment-options. 3 The docket number that Plaintiff provides, No. 19-CV-10907, refers to a different case that Plaintiff previously filed: Avent v. Progressive Cas. Ins. Co., No. 1:19-CV-10907 (JGK) (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 1, 2021) (dismissing with prejudice claims under § 1981 and § 1983). The case to which Plaintiff refers appears to be: Avent v. Reardon, No. 19-CV-1565, 2020 WL 7705938 In this complaint, Plaintiff asserts claims under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1982 and 1983, alleging that Defendants have conspired to violate his “civil rights in banking and finance” and his rights to equal protection and due process (Id. ¶¶ 2-3.) Plaintiff claims that Defendants “apparently tend[]” to discriminate against African Americans who receive unemployment insurance

benefits, and have failed to train or supervise their employees. Plaintiff seeks $40 million in “compensation damages,” and $80 million in punitive damages. DISCUSSION A. Race Discrimination Claim Plaintiff filed this complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1982, which provides that “[a]ll citizens of the United States shall have the same right, in every State and Territory, as is enjoyed by white citizens thereof to inherit, purchase, lease, sell, hold, and convey real and personal property.” See United States v. Nelson, 277 F.3d 164, 177 (2d Cir. 2002) (§ 1982 forbids “public and private racially discriminatory interference with property rights”). To state a claim under § 1982, a plaintiff must allege discriminatory interference with some right involving real or personal property. See Young v. Suffolk County, 705 F. Supp.2d 183, 207 (E.D.N.Y. 2010)

(dismissing complaint filed under § 1982 because it contained no facts suggesting that the plaintiff was subject to unlawful discrimination); Bishop v. Toys “R” Us-NY LLC, 414 F. Supp.2d 385, 395 (S.D.N.Y. 2006) (same) (citing City of Memphis v. Greene, 451 U.S. 100, 121- 22 (1981)). Plaintiff also invokes 42 U.S.C.

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