White v. Department of Corrections

Background

Robert White filed this action without a lawyer while held at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island. The complaint alleges that White and 27 other prisoners were subjected to unacceptable, mandatory, random, or orchestrated specialized strip searches by force during an incident on August 29, 2025. The complaint named all 28 prisoners as plaintiffs, but only White signed it. White was also the only prisoner who filed a signed application to proceed without paying the filing fee and a prisoner authorization; the court had granted White that status.

Severance decision

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 20 permits multiple plaintiffs to join one lawsuit when their claims arise from the same event or related events and involve a common legal or factual question. Rule 21 allows a court to separate claims when doing so will promote fairness, efficiency, or judicial economy.

The court ordered the claims of every plaintiff other than White severed from this case under Rule 21. It directed the clerk to open a separate civil action, with a new docket number, for each of the 27 other named plaintiffs and to place a copy of the complaint and the order in each new action.

The court gave three main reasons. First, people representing themselves may appear only for themselves and cannot act as lawyers for other plaintiffs. Second, each unrepresented plaintiff must personally sign every filing, but prisoners may be released or transferred and therefore may be unable to sign future documents. Third, security restrictions on correspondence and face-to-face communication could limit the prisoners’ ability to coordinate strategy, share evidence, and exchange filings, causing piecemeal submissions, delays, and missed deadlines.

Effect of the order

Robert White will remain the sole plaintiff in this action. Each of the other 27 plaintiffs will proceed in a separate action. The court stated that the new cases will proceed independently and that the prisoners will not be treated as co-plaintiffs unless the court later orders otherwise. After opening the cases, the clerk will direct each other plaintiff to submit a signed complaint signature page and either pay the required fee or submit a completed and signed application to proceed without paying the fee, together with a prisoner authorization.

The court did not decide whether the cases could later be treated as related or consolidated, meaning combined for some or all purposes. It also did not decide the merits of the allegations about the searches.

Appeal and disposition

The court severed all claims except White’s claims and directed the clerk to open 27 separate civil actions. It certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying the filing fee for purposes of an appeal. The order was signed by Chief United States District Judge Laura Taylor Swain on October 30, 2025.