Opinion
24-CV-1754 (LTS)
05-28-2024
QUANDELL HICKMAN, Plaintiff, v. THE CITY OF NEW YORK DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS; CAPTAIN WELLS; ESU CASTELLO; C.O. HAGIGAL; C.O. BEOROMODOX; C.O. MUNYIN; 3 ESU OFFICERS; C.O. STUDWOOD; ESU CASTELLO; C.O. CHARLES; C.O. SEARGEANT, Defendants.
ORDER TO AMEND
LAURA TAYLOR SWAIN CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Plaintiff, who currently is incarcerated at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island, brings this action pro se. By order dated March 12, 2024, the Court granted Plaintiff's request to proceed in forma pauperis, that is, without prepayment of fees.For the reasons set forth below, the Court grants Plaintiff leave to file an amended complaint within 60 days of the date of this order.
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). Plaintiff has brought approximately 14 different civil rights actions in this court, but as of the date of filing the complaint, he has not been disqualified, under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), from proceeding in forma pauperis.
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 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).
While the law mandates dismissal on any of these grounds, the Court is obliged to construe pro se pleadings liberally, Harris v. Mills, 572 F.3d 66, 72 (2d Cir. 2009), and interpret them to raise the “strongest [claims] that they suggest,” Triestman v. Fed. Bureau of Prisons, 470 F.3d 471, 474 (2d Cir. 2006) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted) (emphasis in original). But the “special solicitude” in pro se cases, id. at 475 (citation omitted), has its limits -to state a claim, pro se pleadings still must comply with Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which requires a complaint to make a short and plain statement showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.
The Supreme Court has held that, under Rule 8, a complaint must include enough facts to state a claim for relief “that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). A claim is facially plausible if the plaintiff pleads enough factual detail to allow the court to draw the inference that the defendant is liable for the alleged misconduct. In reviewing the complaint, the Court must accept all well-pleaded factual allegations as true. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678-79 (2009). But it does not have to accept as true “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action,” which are essentially just legal conclusions. Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555. After separating legal conclusions from well-pleaded factual allegations, the Court must determine whether those facts make it plausible - not merely possible - that the pleader is entitled to relief. Id.
BACKGROUND
The following facts are drawn from Plaintiff's complaint. Plaintiff's claims arose on February 2, 2024, at the intake unit of the Eric M. Taylor Center on Rikers Island. Captain Wells and other intake staff “attacked [Plaintiff,] wrestled [him] to the ground, and fondled [him] and molested [him] for a memory card . . .with evidence against courts.” (ECF 1 at 4.) Captain Wells “had to tell [the] officer with neck face mask scarf to stop searching [Plaintiff] or touching [his] privates.” (Id.)
Plaintiff further alleges the following:
They then searched me stole Iphone macbook pro (touch screen) Gucci book bag and loafers plus sim cards. They brung ESU officers I had issues with to saw off cuffs I begged for medical and got threatened. I had a panick attack / seizure they left me to Die! When I came back to I was being put in a side cell #5 No medical They lied said I was on drugs Drug test Negative! Blood pressure too the moon!! Saw burned my wrist and cuff cut deep left scars denied proper medical got sick call 2 weeks later. After 311 complaint they even wrote me a ticket like I was playing or disobeying orders Captain Wells said I was foaming and spitting on her and I don't remember because I was on drugs and not to take it anymore But I never took drugs I don't even Drink! Test results to prove it!(Id. at 5.)
All spelling and punctuation in quoted material is from the original, unless otherwise noted.
Plaintiff sues the “City of New York Department of Corrections” (DOC), Captain Wells, and eleven correction officers, some of whom are identified by name.He seeks one billion dollars in damages and an order directing that all Defendants be fired and arrested.
The information identifying the defendants is not entirely clear. For example, Plaintiff names one defendant as “C.O. Seargent.” He also sues “3 ESU officers,” as well as two individuals who are both identified as “ESU Castello,” though the shield numbers are different. It is unclear if he intends to sue three additional “John Doe” ESU officers, in addition to the two ESU officers named Castello.
DISCUSSION
A. Personal Involvement
To state a claim under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a plaintiff must allege facts showing the defendants' direct and personal involvement in the alleged constitutional deprivation. See Spavone v. N.Y. State Dep' t of Corr. Serv., 719 F.3d 127, 135 (2d Cir. 2013) (“It is well settled in this Circuit that personal involvement of defendants in the alleged constitutional deprivations is a prerequisite to an award of damages under § 1983.”) (internal quotation marks omitted).
Plaintiff's allegations suggest that he is attempting to assert various claims. He may be alleging that someone subjected him to a search that was inappropriately harassing. He may also be alleging that someone injured him, either intentionally or negligently, when his handcuffs were removed and that someone denied him medical care for those injuries. Plaintiff names approximately a dozen individual defendants, but it is unclear from the allegations of the complaint what any particular defendant is alleged to have done or failed to do that violated Plaintiff's rights. For example, Plaintiff names Correction Officers Charles and Studwood as defendants in the caption of the complaint, but these individuals are not mentioned in the body of the complaint, and no facts are alleged showing what Charles and Studwood did or failed to do that violated Plaintiff's rights. Because the complaint does not include facts showing how each Defendant was personally involved in the events underlying his claims, Plaintiff's claims are dismissed for failure to state a claim on which relief may be granted. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii).
B. Department of Correction
Plaintiff's claims against the New York City Department of Correction must be dismissed because an agency of the City of New York is not an entity that can be sued. N.Y. City Charter ch. 17, § 396 (“[A]ll actions and proceedings for the recovery of penalties for the violation of any law shall 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.”).
If Plaintiff submits an amended complaint, his claims against the Department of Correction must be brought against the City of New York. When a plaintiff sues a municipality such as the City of New York under Section 1983, however, it is not enough for the plaintiff to allege that one of the municipality's employees or agents engaged in some wrongdoing. The plaintiff must show that the municipality itself caused the violation of the plaintiff's rights. See Connick v. Thompson, 563 U.S. 51, 60 (2011) (“A municipality or other local government may be liable under . . . section [1983] if the governmental body itself ‘subjects' a person to a deprivation of rights or ‘causes' a person ‘to be subjected' to such deprivation.”) (quoting Monell v. Dep't of Soc. Servs., 436 U.S. 658, 692 (1978)); Cash v. Cnty. of Erie, 654 F.3d 324, 333 (2d Cir. 2011). In other words, to state a Section 1983 claim against a municipality, the plaintiff must allege facts showing (1) the existence of a municipal policy, custom, or practice, and (2) that the policy, custom, or practice caused the violation of the plaintiff's constitutional rights. See Jones v. Town of East Haven, 691 F.3d 72, 80 (2d Cir. 2012); Bd. of Cnty. Comm'rs v. Brown, 520 U.S. 397, 403 (1997) (internal citations omitted).
LEAVE TO AMEND
Plaintiff proceeds in this matter without the benefit of an attorney. District courts generally should grant a self-represented plaintiff an opportunity to amend a complaint to cure its defects, unless amendment would be futile. See Hill v. Curcione, 657 F.3d 116, 123-24 (2d Cir. 2011); Salahuddin v. Cuomo, 861 F.2d 40, 42 (2d Cir. 1988). Because Plaintiff may be able to allege additional facts to state a valid claim, such as a claim for deliberate indifference to serious medical needs, or for a search that violated his rights, the Court grants Plaintiff 60 days' leave to amend his complaint to detail his claims.
If Plaintiff files an amended complaint, Plaintiff must provide, in the “Statement of Claim” section, a short and plain statement of the relevant facts supporting each claim against each defendant. If Plaintiff has an address for any named defendant, Plaintiff must provide it. Plaintiff should include all of the information in the amended complaint that Plaintiff wants the Court to consider in deciding whether the amended complaint states a claim for relief. That information should include:
a) the names and titles of all relevant people;
b) a description of all relevant events, including what each defendant did or failed to do, the approximate date and time of each event, and the general location where each event occurred;
c) a description of the injuries Plaintiff suffered; and
d) the relief Plaintiff seeks, such as money damages, injunctive relief, or declaratory relief.
Essentially, Plaintiff's amended complaint should tell the Court: who violated his federally protected rights; how, when, and where such violations occurred; and why Plaintiff is entitled to relief.
Because Plaintiff's amended complaint will completely replace, not supplement, the original complaint, any facts or claims that Plaintiff wants to include from the original complaint must be repeated in the amended complaint.
CONCLUSION
Plaintiff is granted leave to file an amended complaint that complies with the standards set forth above. Plaintiff must submit the amended complaint to this Court's Pro Se Intake Unit within 60 days of the date of this order, caption the document as an “Amended Complaint,” and label the document with docket number 24-CV-1754 (LTS). An Amended Civil Rights Complaint form is attached to this order. No summons will issue at this time. If Plaintiff fails to comply within the time allowed, and he cannot show good cause to excuse such failure, the Court will dismiss the federal claims for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted and decline supplemental jurisdiction of Plaintiff's state law claims.
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.
(Include case number ifone has been assigned)
AMENDED COMPLAINT
(Prisoner)
Do you want a jury trial?
[] Yes [] No
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.
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 in a “Bivens” action (against federal defendants).
[] Violation of my federal constitutional rights
[] 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
III. PRISONER STATUS
Indicate below whether you are a prisoner or other confined person:
[] Pretrial detainee
[] Civilly committed detainee
[] Immigration detainee
[] Convicted and sentenced prisoner
[] 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. 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)
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)
Current Work Address
County, City State Zip Code
Defendant 4:
First Name Last Name Shield #
Current Job Title (or other identifying information)
Current Work Address
County, City State Zip Code
V. 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.
INJURIES:
If you were injured as a result of these actions, describe your injuries and what medical treatment, if any, you required and received.
VI. RELIEF
State briefly what money damages or other relief you want the court to order.
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.
I understand that if I file three or more cases while I 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.
I 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 IFP application.
Dated Plaintiff's Signature
First Name Middle Initial Last Name
Prison Address
County, City State Zip Code
Date on which I am delivering this complaint to prison authorities for mailing: