Cato v. Reardon

District Court, N.D. New York·Decided December 12, 2023·No. 9:22-cv-01173·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK JASON ET CATO, also known as Jason Cato, Plaintiff, 9:23-CV-1173 (AMN/CFH) v. PATRICK REARDON, et al., Defendants. APPEARANCES: JASON ET CATO Plaintiff, pro se 21-B-0271 Cayuga Correctional Facility P.O. Box 1186 Moravia, NY 13118 ANNE M. NARDACCI United States District Judge DECISION and ORDER I. INTRODUCTION AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY On October 17, 20221, pro se plaintiff Jason ET Cato ("plaintiff") commenced this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 ("Section 1983") and sought leave to proceed in forma pauperis ("IFP"). Dkt. No. 1 ("Compl."); Dkt. No. 2 ("IFP Application"). By Decision and Order filed on January 25, 2023 (the "January Order"), the Court found that plaintiff had filed three previous civil actions while incarcerated that were dismissed based on frivolousness or 1 Under the "prison mailbox rule," the date of filing is deemed to be the date that the prisoner-plaintiff delivered his complaint to a prison guard for mailing to the court, which is presumed to be the date that the complaint was signed. See Houston v. Lack, 487 U.S. 266, 276 (1988); Noble v. Kelly, 246 F.3d 93, 97 (2d Cir. 2001). failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. Dkt. No. 6 at 3-4. As the Court noted, under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), those three previous actions serve as “three strikes” which bar plaintiff from proceeding IFP, unless he is able to demonstrate that he faced “imminent danger of serious physical injury” at the time he commenced the action. As such, the Court next considered plaintiff's allegations solely for purposes of evaluating whether they were

sufficient to qualify him for the imminent danger exception to the three strikes rule found in Section 1915. Dkt. No. 6 at 5-6. At the time he commenced the action, plaintiff was incarcerated at Marcy Correctional Facility ("Marcy C.F.") and he alleged that "the entire administration at Marcy Correctional Facility ha[d] deprived the plaintiff of constitutional rights." Compl. at 4. Plaintiff further alleged that defendants, "fail[ed] to treat the plaintiff fairly pursuant to due process" and asserted that defendants were "stealing his legal mail, legal packages," and "finances." Id. at 4. Upon review of the complaint, the Court concluded that plaintiff's allegations did not

plausibly suggest that he faced imminent danger of serious physical injury at the time he commenced the action. Dkt. No. 6 at 6. In light of plaintiff's pro se status, plaintiff's IFP Application was held in abeyance and he was directed to either (i) pay the Court's filing fee of four hundred and two dollars ($402.00) in full, or (ii) file an amended complaint demonstrating that he faced imminent danger of serious physical injury from the named defendant(s) when he commenced this action. Id. at 6-7. Plaintiff was directed to comply with the January Order within thirty days. Id. On March 8, 2023, the Court issued an Order dismissing the action, without prejudice, due to plaintiff's failure to comply with the January Order. Dkt. No. 7 (the "March Order"). 2 On the same day, Judgment was issued. Dkt. No. 8. On March 27, 2023, plaintiff filed a Notice of Appeal (Dkt. No. 9), as well as an amended complaint (Dkt. No. 10). On September 8, 2023, the case was remanded from the Second Circuit for consideration of the amended complaint, "as a timely motion to alter or amend a judgment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e)." Dkt. No. 12.

II. MOTION TO VACATE JUDGMENT "A party seeking to file an amended complaint postjudgment must first have the judgment vacated or set aside pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 59(e) or 60(b)." Ruotolo v. City of N. Y., 514 F.3d 184, 191 (2d Cir. 2008) (citation omitted). Reconsideration of a judgment pursuant to Rule 59 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure "should be granted only when the [movant] identifies an intervening change of controlling law, the availability of new evidence, or the need to correct a clear error or prevent manifest injustice." Kolel Beth Yechiel Mechil of Tartikov, Inc. v. YLL Irrevocable Trust, 729 F.3d 99, 104 (2d Cir. 2013) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted)). Here, plaintiff's submission was signed on

March 8, 2023, but not received by the Court until March 27, 2023. See Dkt. No. 10 at 33. Thus, it appears that plaintiff's submission crossed in the mail with the March Order and Judgment. Accordingly, plaintiff's motion to vacate must be granted to prevent manifest injustice. See Braithwaite v. Gaitman, No. 22-CV-0974, 2022 WL 14059127, at *5 (E.D.N.Y. Oct. 24, 2022) (noting that the special solicitude towards pro se litigants "takes a variety of forms, including liberal construction of papers, relaxation of the limitations on the amendment of pleadings, leniency in the enforcement of other procedural rules"). Thus, plaintiff's motion to alter/amend the Judgment is granted and the Judgment entered March 8, 2023 is vacated.

3 The Clerk is directed to restore this case to the active docket. III. REVIEW OF SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT On October 18, 2023, plaintiff filed a second amended complaint. Dkt. No. 14 ("Sec. Am. Compl."). Thus, since this action has been reopened, the Court deems the second

amended complaint as the operative pleading and will review plaintiff's second amended complaint in accordance with Section 1915. A. Legal Standard The legal standard governing the imminent danger exception to the three strikes rule set forth in 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), referenced above, was discussed at length in the January Order, and it will not be restated in this Decision and Order. See Dkt. No. 6 at 4-5. B. Summary of Factual Allegations and Claims In the second amended complaint, plaintiff identifies the following new defendants: Commissioner Martuscello, Superintendent Mr. D'Amore, Dibari, Barbosa, Sergeant Trombly,

Sergeant Davis, Sergeant Thisse, Correction Officer Smith, Correction Officer Bradbarry ("Bradbarry"), Imam Mr. Hadian ("Hadian"), Correction Officer Keller, and Correction Officer G. Butler.2 Sec. Am. Compl. at 1, 5-10. In addition, plaintiff indicates that the matter is now a "class action" brought by "Cato, Cunningham, King, Williams, Daley, Kerrick, Paul, Gary, Collins, Gilmore, and the entire Rastafararian faith." Sec. Am. Compl. at 2-4. It is well settled that a class action cannot be maintained by a pro se litigant since non-attorneys may not represent anyone other than themselves. See Khalil v. Laird, 353 Fed. App'x 620, 621 (2d Cir. 2009); 28 U.S.C. § 1654.

2 The Clerk of the Court is directed to add these individuals as defendants to the docket report.

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