De'Bey v. The City of New York

District Court, S.D. New York·Decided September 18, 2020·No. 1:20-cv-01034·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK JOHN DE’BEY,

Plaintiff,

-v- CIVIL ACTION NO.: 20 Civ. 1034 (PGG) (SLC)

THE CITY OF NEW YORK, et al., OPINION & ORDER

Defendants.

SARAH L. CAVE, United States Magistrate Judge. Before the Court is the motion of pro se Plaintiff John De’Bey (“De’Bey”) for leave to file a second amended complaint (the “Motion”). (ECF No. 45). De’Bey has included with the Motion a proposed second amended complaint (the “SAC”). (Id.) The City takes no position on the Motion (ECF No. 54), and the other defendants have not yet appeared in this action. For the reasons set forth below, the Motion is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. I. BACKGROUND In the SAC, De’Bey asserts claims under 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983, 1985, and 1988, and state tort law, against the City of New York (the “City”); New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) Officer Castellanos and Detective Stephanie Eiel; New York Health & Hospitals/Metropolitan (properly, New York City Health & Hospitals Corp. (“NYCHHC”)); Administration for Children’s Services (“ACS”) employees Mubanga Nsofu, Conrad Seivwright and Marsha Weaks; Assistant District Attorney Sara Weiss; the New York City Housing Authority (“NYCHA”); Wise Towers, a NYCHA housing project; The New York Foundling, a foster care agency1; and Elsa Gaston (“Gaston”), a neighbor. (ECF No. 45). De’Bey alleges that Defendants conspired to violate his due process and other constitutional rights. (Id.)

A. Factual Background The Court’s summary of the allegations is drawn from the SAC, which the Court has liberally construed, given his pro se status. See McCloud v. Mayers, No. 03-0236, 2005 WL 181649, at *1 (2d Cir. Jan. 25, 2005) (summary order) (“This Court construes the papers of pro se litigants liberally.”); Massie v. Metro. Museum of Art, 651 F. Supp. 2d 88, 93 (S.D.N.Y. 2009)

(noting that courts in the Second Circuit “apply[] a more flexible standard” to pro se submissions). 1. Events leading up to arrest At the time of the incidents alleged in the SAC, De’Bey and his wife, Sylfronia King (“King”), lived in Wise Towers, a NYCHA housing project in Manhattan. (ECF No. 45 ¶¶ 143–44). On February 13, 2019, De’Bey’s son and daughter went with King to visit their grandmother in Queens. (Id. ¶ 29). After a dispute with King, a groundskeeper called ACS and falsely reported

that the son was outside unsupervised. (Id. ¶¶ 30, 32). That day, two ACS workers, one of whom was Defendant Conrad Seivwright (“Seivwright”), called the NYPD after King would not let them into the grandmother’s apartment. (ECF No. 45 ¶¶ 33–35). NYPD officers arrived, and entered the grandmother’s apartment without consent, purportedly to conduct a welfare check as to the children. (Id. ¶¶ 37–38). The children were “healthy and unharmed,” and there was no evidence supporting the groundskeeper’s claim.

1 The New York Foundling is no longer a defendant in this case. On June 16, 2020, De’Bey voluntarily dismissed The New York Foundling (ECF No. 55). The dismissal was so-ordered by Judge Gardephe on June 18, 2020 (ECF No. 56). (Id. ¶ 41). Seivwright told King that the children could not remain at their grandmother’s apartment because it lacked running water and gas. (Id. ¶ 42). The grandmother informed Seivwright that King and the children were only visiting and gave Seivwright De’Bey’s contact

information. (Id. ¶ 44). That evening, Seivwright brought King and the children back to Wise Towers where De’Bey was waiting. (ECF No. 45 ¶¶ 49–50). Seivwright checked the apartment and deemed it safe. (Id. ¶ 58). The children remained with De’Bey and King, but Seivwright informed them that ACS would conduct a second inspection. (Id. ¶ 60). Three days later, on February 16, 2019,

De’Bey received a call from an ACS caseworker. (Id. ¶ 61). After a brief conversation, the caseworker said he would call De’Bey back, but never did. (Id.) On February 21, 2019, De’Bey and King had a dispute, and De’Bey left the home for seven days. (ECF No. 45 ¶ 67). On February 26, 2019, while away from the apartment, De’Bey received a phone call from ACS, informing him that ACS agents, including Defendants Marsha Weaks and Mubanga Nsofu, were currently at his apartment and attempting to gain access. (Id. ¶ 68).

De’Bey spoke with ACS and NYPD Officer Castellanos and Detective Stephanie Eiel (“Eiel”) on the telephone, and then spoke with King and convinced her to let them in the apartment. (Id. ¶¶ 79– 86, 178). The children were taken into ACS custody, and De’Bey was arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of the children. (ECF No. 45 ¶ 146). De’Bey later learned that Gaston had called the ACS hotline number after King had asked Gaston to “help” with her son for a few

hours. (Id. ¶¶ 69–70). Gaston reportedly told ACS that De’Bey’s daughter appeared to be underweight and that King and De’Bey had abandoned their son. (Id. ¶¶ 72–74). 2. Detention and plea While at the police station, Eiel took De’Bey’s phone (without providing a receipt or voucher), and asked De’Bey questions about his relationship with King and the children. (ECF No.

45 ¶¶ 184–87, 195). Eiel repeatedly demanded De’Bey’s phone password, delivered his phone to Defendant ADA Sara Weiss, and has still not returned De’Bey’s phone. (Id. ¶¶ 194–97). De’Bey also asserts that Eiel only read De’Bey his Miranda rights after questioning him at the station. (Id. ¶ 192). While detained on Rikers Island, De’Bey asserts that he was denied access to the courts.

(ECF No. 45 ¶ 168). Specifically, De’Bey alleges that Defendants failed to produce him for a Family Court hearing regarding the children’s custody (id. ¶ 158), and failed to serve him with a Complaint in Housing Court, resulting in his default. (Id. ¶¶ 148–52). On May 2, 2019, De’Bey entered a plea deal. (ECF No. 45 ¶ 202). De’Bey alleges that the deal was coerced and that he only admitted to the charges to avoid losing his children. (Id. ¶¶ 134, 205, 247–51). He contends that he did not understand the contents of the plea

agreement until after it was executed. (Id. ¶¶ 258–63). 3. Release De’Bey was released on May 5, 2019. (ECF No. 45 ¶ 152). On July 24, 2019, as condition of his probation, De’Bey met with a psychiatrist affiliated with “Health + Hospitals /Metropolitan” (a facility owned and operated by NYCHHC), who falsely reported that De’Bey’s mother and sister suffer from bipolar disorder. (ECF No. 45 ¶¶ 266–73). As a result, De’Bey’s mother and sister

were not allowed to take custody of the children. (Id. ¶ 485). On November 11, 2019, De’Bey and King had another son. (ECF No. 45 ¶ 101). On January 7, 2020, while De’Bey and King were visiting the daughter and older son at The New York Foundling, where they were in foster care, ACS workers “confronted” them and asked where the

newborn was. (Id. ¶ 100). De’Bey told them that the child was living with his mother and sister in Queens because of the “open case.” (Id. ¶ 102). That night, the newborn was also taken into ACS custody. (Id. ¶ 103). De’Bey asserts that Defendants conspired together and discriminated against him and his family because they are members of the Akom religion. (ECF No. 45 ¶ 106). De’Bey claims that

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

De'Bey v. The City of New York, (S.D.N.Y. 2020).

De'Bey v. The City of New York (De'Bey v. The City of New York) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Foman v. Davis
371 U.S. 178 (Supreme Court, 1962)
Williams v. Citigroup Inc.
659 F.3d 208 (Second Circuit, 2011)
Friedl v. City Of New York
210 F.3d 79 (Second Circuit, 2000)
Ximines v. George Wingate High School
516 F.3d 156 (Second Circuit, 2008)
Massie v. Metropolitan Museum of Art
651 F. Supp. 2d 88 (S.D. New York, 2009)