Turner v. Cimorelli
- Philip Halpern
- 7:20-cv-00643
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 10
In Turner v. Cimorelli, Judge Nelson S. Roman ordered Allah Justice Turner to amend claims against unnamed medical staff or face dismissal of those claims.
Allah Justice Turner and the unnamed John and Jane Doe medical-staff defendants; the order specifically concerns Turner’s claims against those unnamed defendants.
What happened
In Turner v. Cimorelli, Allah Justice Turner, who is incarcerated and proceeding without a lawyer, sued under a federal civil-rights law. He alleged, among other things, that some defendants used excessive force, and he named 50 unnamed medical-staff defendants.
The court found that Turner did not describe what the unnamed medical staff did or failed to do, so the complaint did not adequately state claims against them. The court gave him 30 days to file an amended complaint identifying the defendants and explaining their personal involvement. The amended complaint must replace the original complaint rather than add to it.
The court did not issue summonses at this time. If Turner does not amend the complaint within 30 days, the court will treat the original complaint as the operative complaint and dismiss the claims against the unnamed medical staff for failure to state a claim. Judge Nelson S. Roman issued the order.
The detailed version
- Turner v. Cimorelli · No. 7:20-cv-00643
- Philip Halpern
- Mar. 2, 2020
Background
Allah Justice Turner, incarcerated at Orange County Jail, brought this action without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal law allowing claims against certain state or local officials for violating constitutional rights. Turner alleged, among other things, that some defendants used excessive force. The caption also named “John and Jane Doe Medical Staff 1-50,” but the complaint did not identify specific individuals or describe their conduct.
The court had previously allowed Turner to proceed without prepaying the filing fee. Because Turner was proceeding without a lawyer and had received that permission, the court screened the complaint under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2)(B) and 1915A(b). Those laws require dismissal of claims that are frivolous, malicious, fail to state a claim, seek relief from an immune defendant, or fall outside the court’s jurisdiction.
Court’s Analysis
The court held that Turner failed to state a claim against the unnamed medical staff because he alleged no facts in the body of the complaint showing what any of them did or failed to do that violated his rights. The court explained that a plaintiff must allege each defendant’s direct and personal involvement in the alleged constitutional violation.
The court also explained that it generally gives a plaintiff proceeding without a lawyer an opportunity to correct a defective complaint unless amendment would be futile. It granted Turner leave to amend his claims against the unnamed medical staff.
Order and Effect
Turner had 30 days from the date of the order to file an amended complaint. The amended complaint must name the unnamed medical staff in the caption and include facts that could help identify them, such as the date and time of the incident, its location, descriptions of the defendants, and what happened. Any other facts or claims Turner wanted to maintain also had to be included because the amended complaint would completely replace the original complaint.
The court did not issue summonses at that time. If Turner filed an amended complaint, the court would screen it under the applicable prisoner-screening law. If he did not file one within 30 days, the original complaint would remain the operative complaint and the court would dismiss Turner’s claims against the unnamed medical staff for failure to state a claim. The order was issued by Judge Nelson S. Roman.
Read the full 10-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.