Aponte v. City of New York
- Kenneth Karas
- 7:14-cv-03989
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Aponte v. Perez, Judge Karas entered $1 nominal-damages judgment for unconstitutional detention and closed the case.
Felix Aponte received a $1 nominal-damages judgment for his detention from June 6 through June 20, 2008, and the case was closed. The order also directed the clerk to mail Aponte a copy of the order.
What happened
Felix Aponte sued Ada Perez and other defendants over his detention from June 6 through June 20, 2008. The opinion does not identify the defendants’ roles or provide additional facts about the detention.
On April 20, 2020, the court partially granted the defendants’ summary-judgment motion. It instructed Aponte to explain within 30 days why he should receive more than $1 for harm caused by the unconstitutional detention. The court mailed that decision to the address listed on the docket, but Aponte did not submit the requested explanation.
Judge Kenneth M. Karas ordered the clerk to enter judgment awarding Aponte $1 in nominal damages, mail him a copy of the order, and close the case.
The detailed version
- Aponte v. City of New York · No. 7:14-cv-03989
- Kenneth Karas
- May 27, 2020
Background
The court stated that it had partially granted the defendants’ motion for summary judgment on April 20, 2020. Summary judgment is a ruling that resolves claims when the material facts do not require a trial. In that earlier ruling, the court instructed Felix Aponte to explain whether and why he was entitled to more than $1 in damages for harm occurring during a period of unconstitutional detention.
Plaintiff’s response
The court said that the earlier Opinion and Order was mailed to Aponte’s address listed on the docket. Aponte did not file a submission explaining why he should receive more than $1.
Ruling
The court ordered the clerk to enter judgment awarding Aponte $1 in nominal damages for his detention from June 6 through June 20, 2008. Nominal damages are a small award recognizing a legal violation when the plaintiff has not established compensable actual injury. The court also ordered the clerk to mail Aponte a copy of the order and close the case. Judge Kenneth M. Karas signed the order on May 27, 2020.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.