Swinson v. City of New York

District Court, S.D. New York·Decided May 18, 2020·No. 1:20-cv-00994·Unknown

Opinion

USONUITTEHDE RSTNA DTIESST RDIICSTT ROIFC TN ECWOU YROTR K USDC-SDNY DOCUMENT RANDY SWINSON, ELECTRONICALLY FILED DOC#: Plaintiff, DATE FILED: 5-18-20 v. 20-CV-994 (RA) CITY OF NEW YORK, WARDEN “SWARUEZ,” DEP. WARDEN “BAILEY,” ORDER OF SERVICE C.O. “WILLIAMS,” Grievance Officer, JANE DOE SECURITY DEPUTY WARDEN, AND JANE DOE, Supervisor of Social Service, Defendants. RONNIE ABRAMS, United States District Judge: Plaintiff, currently held in the Manhattan Detention Complex (“MDC”), brings this pro se action alleging that the defendants violated his federal constitutional rights. He sues the City of New York, MDC Deputy Warden Bailey, Correction Officer Williams, MDC Deputy Security Warden “Jane Doe,” MDC Supervisor of Social Services “Jane Doe,” and MDC Warden Swaruez. He seeks damages. The Court construes Plaintiff’s complaint as asserting claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and under state law. By order dated March 4, 2020, the Court granted Plaintiff’s request to proceed without prepayment of fees, that is, in forma pauperis.1 The Court requests that the City of New York, MDC Deputy Warden Bailey, Correction Officer Williams, and MDC Warden Swaruez waive service of summons. The Court directs the Corporation Counsel of the City of New York to provide to Plaintiff and to the Court the identities and service addresses of MDC Deputy Security Warden “Jane Doe” and MDC Supervisor of Social Services “Jane Doe.” 1 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). DISCUSSION Under Valentin v. Dinkins, 121 F.3d 72 (2d Cir. 1997), a pro se litigant is entitled to assistance from the district court in identifying an unidentified defendant and their service address. See Valentin, 121 F.3d at 76. In the amended complaint, Plaintiff supplies sufficient information to permit the New York City Department of Correction (“DOC”) to identify the unidentified “Jane Doe” defendants. They are the MDC Deputy Security Warden and the MDC Supervisor of Social Services. Accordingly, the Court orders the Corporation Counsel of the City of New York, who is the attorney for and agent of the DOC, to ascertain the identities and service addresses of the “Jane Doe” defendants whom Plaintiff seeks to sue here. The Corporation Counsel must provide this information to Plaintiff and the Court within sixty days of the date of this order.2

Within thirty days of receiving this information, Plaintiff must file a second amended complaint naming the newly identified defendants. The second amended complaint will replace, not supplement, the original and amended complaints. A second amended complaint form that Plaintiff should complete is attached to this order. Once Plaintiff has filed a second amended complaint, the Court will screen it and, if necessary, either request that the newly identified defendants waive service or direct service on them. CONCLUSION The Clerk of Court is directed to mail a copy of this Order to Plaintiff, together with an information package. The Clerk of Court is also directed to 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

2 If either of the “Jane Doe” defendants is a current or former DOC employee or official, the Corporation Counsel 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 by personal service at a DOC facility. If either of the “Jane Doe” defendants is not a current or former DOC employee or official, but otherwise works or worked at a DOC facility, the Corporation Counsel must provide a residential address where the individual may be served. York, MDC Deputy Warden Bailey, Correction Officer Williams (an MDC Grievance Officer), and MDC Warden Swaruez waive service of summons. The Clerk of Court is further directed to mail a copy of this order and the amended complaint to the Corporation Counsel of the City of New York at 100 Church Street, New York, New York 10007. A second amended complaint form is attached to this order. 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 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: May 18, 2020 Yi] New York, New York ko ( United States District Judge

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

CVE Write the full name of each plaintiff. (Include case number if one has been assigned)

“against- COMPLAINT (Prisoner) Do you want a jury trial? ssssssss...0.0.0. L1Yes LINo

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 IV.

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; or a 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

I. 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). L] Violation of my federal constitutional rights L] Other: II. PLAINTIFF INFORMATION Each plaintiff must provide the following information. Attach additional pages if necessary.

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.

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

Current Place of Detention

Institutional Address

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

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.

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Swinson v. City of New York, (S.D.N.Y. 2020).

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