Purnell v. Williams

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK JAMEL PURNELL, Plaintiff, -against- 22-CV-5956 (JGK) CAPT. WILLIAMS; NYC DOC; OFFICER JOHN DOE 1; OFFICER JOHN DOE 2; ORDER OF SERVICE OFFICER JOHN DOE 3; OFFICER JOHN DOE 4; OFFICER JOHN DOE 5; OFFICER JOHN DOE 6, Defendants. JOHN G. KOELTL, United States District Judge: Plaintiff, who is currently detained at the Robert N. Davoren Complex, brings this pro se action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleges that on July 4, 2021, when he was detained at the Anna M. Kross Center (AMKC), Defendants used excessive force against him. By order dated July 25, 2022, the Court granted Plaintiff’s request to proceed in forma pauperis, that is, without prepayment of fees. ! STANDARD OF REVIEW The Prison Litigation Reform Act requires that federal courts screen complaints brought by prisoners who seek relief against a governmental entity or an officer or employee of a governmental entity. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The Court must dismiss a prisoner’s in forma pauperis complaint, or any portion 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); see Abbas v, Dixon, 480 F.3d

' Prisoners are not exempt from paying the full filing fee even when they have been granted permission to proceed in forma pauperis. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1).

636, 639 (2d Cir, 2007). The Court must also dismiss a complaint if the court lacks subject matter jurisdiction. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(h)(3). DISCUSSION A. New York City Department of Correction Plaintiff’s claims against the New York City Department of Correction (DOC) must be dismissed because, as an agency of the City of New York, the DOC cannot be sued in the name of the agency. N.Y. City Charter ch. 17, § 396 (“[A]ll actions and proceedings for the recovery of penalties for the violation of any law shail be brought in the name of the city of New York and not in that of any agency, except where otherwise provided by law.”); Jenkins v. City of New York, 478 F.3d 76, 93 n.19 (2d Cir, 2007); see also Emerson v, City of New York, 740 F. Supp. 2d 385, 396 (S.D.N.Y. 2010) (“[A] plaintiff is generally prohibited from suing a municipal agency.”), Instead, Plaintiff’s claims against the DOC must be brought against the City of New York. In light of Plaintiff’s pro se status and clear intention to assert claims against the City of New York, the Court construes the complaint as asserting claims against the City of New York, and directs the Clerk of Court to amend the caption of this action to replace the DOC with the City of New York. See Fed, R. Civ. P. 21. This amendment is without prejudice to any defenses the City of New York may wish to assert. B. Service on the City of New York The Clerk of Court is directed to electronically notify the New York City Department of Correction and the New York City Law Department of this order. The Court requests that the City of New York and Captain Williams waive service of summons.

C. Identifying John Doe Defendants Under Valentin v. Dinkins, a pro se litigant is entitled to assistance from the district court

in identifying a defendant. 121 F.3d 72, 76 (2d Cir. 1997). In the complaint, Plaintiff supplies sufficient information to permit the DOC to identify the John Doe officers involved in extracting Plaintiff from his cell at AMKC on July 4, 2021. It is therefore ordered that the New York City Law Department, which is the attorney for and agent of the DOC, must ascertain the identity and

badge number of each John Doe whom Plaintiff seeks to sue here and the address where the

defendant may be served.* The New York City Law Department must provide this information to

Plaintiff and the Court within sixty days of the date of this order.? □ □

Within thirty days of receiving this information, Plaintiff must file an amended complaint naming the John Doe defendants. The amended complaint will replace, not supplement, the original complaint. An amended complaint form for Plaintiff to complete after receiving this information is attached to this order. Once Plaintiff has filed an amended complaint, the Court

will screen the amended complaint and, if necessary, issue an order asking the newly identified

Defendants to waive service.

2 1f the Doe defendant is a current or former DOC employee or official, the New York City Law Department should note in the response to this order that an electronic request for a waiver of service can be made under the e-service agreement for cases involving DOC defendants, rather than personal service at a DOC facility. If the Doe defendant is not a current or former DOC employee or official, but otherwise works or worked at a DOC facility, the New York City Law Department must provide a residential address where the individual may be served. 3 Plaintiff has not provided a badge number for Captain Williams, and the DOC may be unable to identify and waive service for Captain Williams. If so, the Court directs the New York City Law Department, under Valentin v. Dinkins, to identify a badge number for Captain Williams and provide this to Plaintiff and the Court, together with the information for the John Doe defendants.

Automatic Discovery Local Civil Rule 33.2, which requires defendants in certain types of prisoner cases to respond to specific, court-ordered discovery requests, applies to this action. Those discovery requests are available on the Court’s website under “Forms” and are titled “Plaintiff’s Local Civil Rule 33.2 Interrogatories and Requests for Production of Documents.” Within 120 days of the

date of this order, Defendants must serve responses to these standard discovery requests. In their

responses, Defendants must quote each request verbatim." CONCLUSION The Court dismisses Plaintiff’s claims against the New York City Department of

Correction because it lacks the capacity to be sued. The Clerk of Court is directed, under Rule 21 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, to add the City of New York as a Defendant. Local Civil Rule 33.2 applies to this action. An Amended Civil Rights Complaint form is

attached to this order. The Clerk of Court is directed to electronically notify the New York City Department of Correction and the New York City Law Department of this order. The Court requests that Captain Williams and the City of New York waive service of summons. The Clerk of Court is further directed to: (1) mail a copy of this order and the complaint to the New York City Law Department at 100 Church Street New York, NY 10007; and (2) mail

an information package to Plaintiff. The Court certifies under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from this order would

not be taken in good faith, and therefore in forma pauperis status is denied for the purpose of an

4 Tf Plaintiff would like copies of these discovery requests before receiving the responses and does not have access to the website, Plaintiff may request them from the Pro Se Intake Unit.

appeal. Cf, Coppedge v. United States, 369 U.S. 438, 444-45 (1962) (holding that an appellant demonstrates good faith when he seeks review of a nonfrivolous issue). SO ORDERED. Dated: New York, New York CO” /, □□ Le > [st XG ? / 29 / a SS JOHN KOELTL fee "United States District Judge

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

□□ CV Write the full name of each plaintiff. {Include case number if one has been assigned} AMENDED ~against- COMPLAINT (Prisoner)

Do you want a jury trial? I [Yes (CiNo

Write the full name of each defendant. If you cannot fit the names of all of the defendants in the space provided, please write “see attached” in the space above and attach an additional sheet of paper with the full list of names. The names listed above must be identical to those contained in Section lV.

NOTICE The public can access electronic court files. For privacy and security reasons, papers filed with the court should therefore not contain: an individual’s full social security number or full birth date; the full name of a person known to be a minor; ora complete financial account number. A filing may include only: the last four digits of a social security number; the year of an individual’s birth; a minor’s initials; and the last four digits of a financial account number. See Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2.

Rev. 5/20/16

LL LEGAL BASIS FOR CLAIM State below the federal legal basis for your claim, if known. This form is designed primarily for prisoners challenging the constitutionality of their conditions of confinement; those claims are often brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (against state, county, or municipal defendants) or ina “Bivens” action (against federal defendants). Violation of my federal constitutional rights C] Other: PLAINTIFF INFORMATION Each plaintiff must provide the following information. Attach additional pages if necessary.

a First Name Middle initial _ Last Name .

State any other names (or different forms of your name) you have ever used, including any name you have used in previously filing a lawsuit.

Oe Prisoner 1D # (if you have previously been in another agency’s custody, please specify each agency and the [D number (such as your DIN or NYSID) under which you were held)

Current Place of Detention

Institutional Address

County, City State Zip Code ill. PRISONER STATUS Indicate below whether you are a prisoner or other confined person: Pretrial detainee Civilly committed detainee (1 Immigration detainee O Convicted and sentenced prisoner Other:

Pace ?

IV. DEFENDANT INFORMATION To the best of your ability, provide the following information for each defendant. If the correct information is not provided, it could delay or prevent service of the complaint on the defendant. Make sure that the defendants listed below are identical to those listed in the caption. Attach additional pages as necessary. Defendant 1: First Name Last Name Shield #

Current Job Title (or other identifying information} ee. Current Work Address

County, City State Zip Code □ Defendant 2: First Name Last Name Shield #

Current Job Title (or other identifying information)

Current Work Address

County, City State Zip Code Defendant 3: First Name Last Name Shield #

Current Job Title (or other identifying information) ee Current Work Address

County, City State Zip Code Defendant 4: First Name Last Name Shield #

County, City State Zip Code

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Vv. STATEMENT OF CLAIM Place(s) of occurrence:

Date(s) of occurrence: FACTS: State here briefly the FACTS that support your case. Describe what happened, how you were harmed, and how each defendant was personally involved in the alleged wrongful actions. Attach additional pages as necessary.

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INJURIES: If you were injured as a result of these actions, describe your injuries and what medical treatment, if any, you required and received.

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eT VI. RELIEF State briefly what money damages or other relief you want the court to order. □

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VII. PLAINTIFF’S CERTIFICATION AND WARNINGS By signing below, I certify to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief that: (1) the complaint is not being presented for an improper purpose (such as to harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needlessly increase the cost of litigation); (2) the claims are supported by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument to change existing law; (3) the factual contentions have evidentiary support or, if specifically so identified, will likely have evidentiary support after a reasonable opportunity for further investigation or discovery; and (4) the complaint otherwise complies with the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11, understand that if I file three or more cases while ] am a prisoner that are dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or for failure to state a claim, I may be denied in forma pauperis status in future cases. {also understand that prisoners must exhaust administrative procedures before filing an action in federal court about prison conditions, 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a), and that my case may be dismissed if I have not exhausted administrative remedies as required. I agree to provide the Clerk's Office with any changes to my address. I understand that my failure to keep a current address on file with the Clerk's Office may result in the dismissal of my case.

Each Plaintiff must sign and date the complaint. Attach additional pages if necessary. If seeking to proceed without prepayment of fees, each plaintiff must also submit an 1FP application.

Dated Plaintiff's Signature

First Name Middle Initial Last Name

Prison Address

Date on which | am delivering this complaint to prison authorities for mailing:

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