Hassan v. Capain John Doe
- Vernon Broderick
- 1:19-cv-10208-VSB
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Eslam Hassan v. Captain John Doe, Judge Broderick kept both complaints operative and ordered service-related steps while unnamed defendants’ identities were sought.
Eslam Hassan, the City of New York, Kenneth Stukes, and the unnamed correctional and medical defendants whose identities the New York City Law Department was directed to provide.
What happened
Eslam Hassan, who was incarcerated and representing himself, sued under a federal civil-rights law. He alleges that officials used excessive force and failed to address serious medical needs while he was detained at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on October 27, 2016. He named New York City, Warden Kenneth Stukes, and several unnamed defendants.
Hassan filed an amended complaint that repeated the unnamed defendants and gave facility addresses where he believed they could be served. The court explained that federal marshals could not serve unnamed people and said the New York City Law Department was to identify them. Hassan was told to file another amended complaint naming them within 30 days after receiving that information.
Judge Vernon S. Broderick ruled that the original and amended complaints would together remain the operative pleading until further order. He requested that New York City and Kenneth Stukes waive service of the amended complaint and directed the Clerk to notify the relevant city agencies and mail the order to Hassan. The order did not decide whether Hassan’s allegations were legally valid.
The detailed version
- Hassan v. Capain John Doe · No. 1:19-cv-10208-VSB
- Vernon Broderick
- Dec. 12, 2019
Background
Eslam Hassan, who was incarcerated and proceeding without a lawyer, brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleges that on October 27, 2016, defendants used excessive force against him and were deliberately indifferent to his serious medical needs while he was detained at the Otis Bantum Correctional Center on Rikers Island. The defendants identified in the pleadings include the City of New York, Otis Bantum Correctional Center Warden Kenneth Stukes, and various John and Jane Doe defendants.
Hassan filed his complaint on October 31,
- He also asked for permission to proceed without paying the filing fee upfront, and Chief Judge Colleen McMahon granted that request on November 5,
- The court’s November 6, 2019, service order directed the New York City Law Department to identify unnamed defendants, including a captain and four correction officers allegedly involved in a strip search, as well as a doctor and nurse allegedly involved in a medical visit on October 27,
- Stukes filed a waiver of service on November 19,
- As of this order, the City had not answered, appeared, or consented to electronic service.
Hassan later filed an amended complaint, which the court received on December 5 and docketed on December 9, 2019. The amended complaint appeared to incorporate the original complaint, added no new defendants, and again listed the Doe defendants with correctional-facility addresses.
Court’s Analysis
The court advised Hassan that the United States Marshals Service could not serve summonses and complaints on unnamed Doe defendants. The court also stated that the New York City Law Department was required under the earlier service order to provide Hassan with the Doe defendants’ identities by January 6, 2020. Within 30 days after receiving that information, Hassan was directed to file another amended complaint using the attached form and providing the defendants’ true identities.
The court explained that the next amended complaint would replace all earlier pleadings rather than supplement them. After that complaint was filed, the court would screen it and, if appropriate and necessary, issue an order asking the named correctional defendants to waive service.
Disposition
Judge Vernon S. Broderick ordered that, until further order, the operative pleading would consist of Hassan’s original complaint and amended complaint taken together. The court further requested that the City of New York and Kenneth Stukes waive service of the amended complaint. It directed the Clerk of Court to notify the New York City Department of Correction and the City of New York, mail the order and complaint to the New York City Law Department, and mail a copy of the order to Hassan. The order addressed service and identification of defendants; it did not decide the merits of the excessive-force or medical-needs allegations.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.