Cornel Myers v. Angel Quiros, et al.

CourtDistrict Court, D. Connecticut
DecidedJanuary 20, 2026
Docket3:25-cv-00763
StatusUnknown

This text of Cornel Myers v. Angel Quiros, et al. (Cornel Myers v. Angel Quiros, et al.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cornel Myers v. Angel Quiros, et al., (D. Conn. 2026).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT

CORNEL MYERS, : Plaintiff, : 3:25-CV-763 (SVN) : v. : : ANGEL QUIROS, et al., : January 20, 2026 Defendants. :

INITIAL REVIEW ORDER Pro se plaintiff Cornel Myers, a sentenced inmate1 incarcerated at Cheshire Correctional Institution in the custody of the Connecticut Department of Correction (“DOC”), brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging violations of his constitutional rights while he was housed at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution (“MacDougall”). See Compl., ECF No. 1. He names as Defendants Angel Quiros, the Commissioner of the DOC; W. Mulligan, the Deputy Commissioner of the DOC; Warden Guadarama; Deputy Warden Mangiafico; Captain Betances; Medical Provider Ewa; all employees of the DOC who worked at MacDougall at the time of the alleged constitutional violations; and John Dempsey Hospital (UConn). Id. at 2–3, 7. Plaintiff sues Defendants in their individual capacities and seeks compensatory and punitive damages, declaratory relief, and a preliminary and permanent injunction. Id. at 6, 8. The Prison Litigation Reform Act requires that federal courts review complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). Upon review, the Court must dismiss the complaint, or any portion

1 The Court may take judicial notice of matters of public record. See, e.g., Mangiafico v. Blumenthal, 471 F.3d 391, 398 (2d Cir. 2006); Kelley v. Quiros, No. 3:22-cv-1425 (KAD), 2023 WL 1818545, at *2 n.1 (D. Conn. Feb. 8, 2023) (taking judicial notice of state prison website inmate locator information). Information on the Department of Correction website shows that Plaintiff was sentenced on January 13, 2023, to a term of fifty-seven years of imprisonment. See Inmate Information, https://www.ctinmateinfo.state.ct.us/detailsupv.asp?id_inmt_num=411921 (last visited January 20, 2026). of the complaint, that is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim upon 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), 1915A(b). The Court has thoroughly reviewed all factual allegations in the complaint and conducted an initial review pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. Based on this initial review, the Court orders as

follows. I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND The following allegations are set forth in the complaint in this action. The Court does not include herein all the allegations from the complaint but summarizes only those facts necessary to provide context for initial review. Relatedly, the Court treats the facts alleged in the complaint as true for purposes of initial review. On September 16, 2024, Plaintiff “started a hunger strike, along with six other inmates, seeking adequate medical, mental health, and food for the betterment of incarcerated individuals. ECF No. 1 ¶ 10. After the sixth (refused) meal, Plaintiff and the other six inmates were threatened

by correctional officer(s), who said: “Stay in your cells, get off the hunger strike[,] or else there will be consequences for your action(s) and you will all be d[i]vided, said Captain Betances.” Id. ¶ 11. Plaintiff “refused to get off the hunger strike. . . .” Id. ¶ 12. Shortly after Plaintiff did not comply with the officers’ orders to get off the hungers strike, he was handcuffed and placed in a “filthy cell” within the restricted housing unit (segregation) unit. Id. ¶ 13. He states that this retaliatory action was taken by the DOC employees on September 18, 2024. Id. All of Plaintiff’s privileges were revoked and all communications with his friends and loved ones were stopped against his will by officers and their supervisors “for no cause shown.” Id. ¶ 14. On September 22, 2024, Plaintiff fell unconscious while in segregation, and later that night, he woke up in the hospital, where he stayed until he was discharged on September 23, 2024. Id. ¶ 15. He seeks compensatory and punitive damages and declaratory and injunctive relief to ensure “that all inmates in the Connecticut DOC [a]re given equal and adequate medical and mental health treatment and adequate food.” Id. at 6. He also seeks to have this Court prevent the DOC “from

taking anymore retail[a]tory action . . . against [him].” Id. at 8. II. LEGAL STANDARD It is well-established that “[p]ro se complaints ‘must be construed liberally and interpreted to raise the strongest arguments that they suggest.’” Sykes v. Bank of Am., 723 F.3d 399, 403 (2d Cir. 2013) (quoting Triestman v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons, 470 F.3d 471, 474 (2d Cir. 2006)). But pro se litigants are still required to comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Eason v. Maletz, No. 24-CV-1493 (VDO), 2024 WL 4814266, at *2 (D. Conn. Nov. 18, 2024) (citation omitted); see also Triestman, 470 F.3d at 477 (“[P]ro se status does not exempt a party from compliance with relevant rules of procedural and substantive law.”) (internal quotation marks and

citation omitted). Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires that a complaint contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief,” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2), and provide “fair notice of what the . . . claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007) (alteration in original; quotation omitted). Moreover, a pro se complaint will not survive dismissal unless the factual allegations meet the plausibility standard. See Fowlkes v. Ironworkers Local 40, 790 F.3d 378, 387 (2d Cir. 2015). “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citation omitted). A complaint that includes only “‘labels and conclusions,’” “‘a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action’” or “‘naked assertion[s]’ devoid of ‘further factual enhancement,’” does not meet the facial plausibility standard. Id. (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 557 (2007)). III. DISCUSSION Plaintiff states that he brings his claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 to redress the deprivation

of his First, Eighth, and Fourteenth Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution. ECF No. 1 ¶ 1. However, the mere mention of a constitutional provision is not sufficient to state a claim for relief under that provision. See e.g., Harris v. Doe, No.

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Bluebook (online)
Cornel Myers v. Angel Quiros, et al., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/cornel-myers-v-angel-quiros-et-al-ctd-2026.