Al-Haj v. Singer

Background

Nagibe Al-Haj, proceeding without a lawyer, brought this civil-rights action concerning events at Kirby Forensic Psychiatric Center. He named Doctors Singer, Musa, Sakaleg, and Klein; “Vincent Nurses”; “Senior Taylor”; and “all SHTA [Security Hospital Treatment Assistant] and prisoners.” Al-Haj alleged that on March 21, 2019, he fell three times from a bed and broke his back. He also alleged that, from September 2018 until 2019, he was disrespected and was moved from one unit to another.

The court had previously allowed Al-Haj to proceed without prepaying the filing fee. The opinion also states that he had filed several other actions involving the facility, but none of those actions concerned the same events alleged here.

Legal standard

Because Al-Haj named individuals employed by New York State, the court treated the complaint as asserting claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. That law allows a person to seek relief when someone acting for the state violates a right protected by the Constitution or federal law. The court explained that a complaint filed by a person allowed to proceed without prepaying fees must be dismissed if it is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim, seeks money from an immune defendant, or falls outside the court’s jurisdiction. The court also applies a rule requiring a complaint to give a short, plain, and plausible explanation of why the plaintiff is entitled to relief.

Court’s analysis

The court held that Al-Haj did not state a claim because he failed to allege facts showing that the named defendants were personally involved in violating his rights. The court also held that the facts alleged did not suggest that any federal right had been violated.

Because the court could not conclude that these defects could not be corrected, it granted Al-Haj 30 days’ leave to amend. The amended complaint must identify the relevant people and their titles, describe each person’s actions or failures to act, provide dates and locations, explain how the conduct violated Al-Haj’s rights, describe his injuries, and state the relief he seeks. The amended complaint will replace—not supplement—the original complaint.

Disposition

The court granted Al-Haj leave to file an amended complaint that complies with the stated requirements. It did not dismiss the complaint in this order. It warned that if Al-Haj does not file a proper amended complaint within the allowed time and cannot show good cause for the failure, the complaint will be dismissed for failure to state a claim. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.