Wheeler v. NYC DOC
- Colleen McMahon
- 1:19-cv-09689
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Wheeler v. NYCDOC, Judge McMahon granted Wheeler 90 more days to amend his civil-rights complaint and denied fee-free appeal status.
Brett E. Wheeler received an additional 90 days to amend his complaint. NYCDOC and John Doe #1 remained defendants, and the action could be dismissed if Wheeler failed to amend on time without showing good cause. Any appeal from this order could not proceed without payment of fees.
What happened
In Wheeler v. NYCDOC, Brett E. Wheeler, representing himself, sued NYCDOC and John Doe #1 under a federal civil-rights law. He alleged that staff at the George R. Vierno Center on Rikers Island failed to protect him from harm and denied him medical attention.
The court granted Wheeler’s request for an additional 90 days to file an amended complaint. The court explained that he only needed to describe what happened and did not need to make legal arguments, include evidence, conduct legal research, or obtain additional information at that stage.
Judge Colleen McMahon also stated that no further extensions would be granted and that the action could be dismissed for failure to state a claim if Wheeler did not timely amend without showing good cause. The court denied fee-free status for any appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Wheeler v. NYC DOC · No. 1:19-cv-09689
- Colleen McMahon
- Feb. 10, 2020
Background
Brett E. Wheeler, appearing without a lawyer, brought an action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal law allowing claims against state or local officials for violating constitutional rights. He alleged that defendants NYCDOC and John Doe #1 violated his rights while he was incarcerated at the George R. Vierno Center on Rikers Island. The opinion says his allegations concerned correction officials’ or other staff members’ failure to protect him from harm and denial of medical attention.
The court had previously granted Wheeler leave to amend his complaint to provide more detail. The opinion states that the court received a letter from Wheeler requesting a 90-day extension because he had limited access to the law library.
Ruling
The court granted Wheeler’s request for an additional 90 days to file an amended complaint. It clarified that the amended complaint did not need legal arguments or evidence; Wheeler only needed to explain what happened that suggested correction officials or other staff violated his rights. The court said he did not need to conduct legal research or obtain additional information at that stage.
The court also granted Wheeler leave to file the amended complaint within 90 days of the order and stated that no further extensions would be granted. It warned that if Wheeler failed to comply within the permitted time and could not show good cause for the failure, the action would be dismissed for failure to state a claim. The court separately certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Wheeler permission to proceed without paying fees on appeal.
Effect
This order extended the deadline for amending the complaint and did not decide whether Wheeler’s underlying allegations were legally sufficient. The action remained subject to possible dismissal if he failed to amend as required. Judge Colleen McMahon entered the order on February 10, 2020.
Note on the text
The opinion states that Wheeler’s extension request was received on January 29, 2019, although that date appears inconsistent with the surrounding chronology. The judge is identified in the opinion’s heading as Chief United States District Judge Colleen McMahon; the reproduced signature is not legible.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.