Fennell v. New York City Department of Corrections

Background

Dakwan Fennell brought this self-represented action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging violations of his constitutional rights. The opinion states that he was incarcerated at the North Infirmary Command on Rikers Island. The defendants named in the caption were the New York City Department of Correction, Kisa Smalls, identified as warden of the North Infirmary Command, the City of New York, and the New York State Division of Parole.

The court had previously allowed Fennell to proceed without prepaying filing fees. Because Fennell was a prisoner seeking relief from governmental defendants, the court screened the complaint under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. That screening required dismissal of claims that were frivolous, malicious, failed to state a claim for relief, sought money from an immune defendant, or fell outside the court's jurisdiction.

Claims and screening rulings

The court dismissed the claims against the New York City Department of Correction because a New York City agency generally is not a separate entity that can be sued. The court also dismissed Fennell's claims against the New York State Division of Parole because the Eleventh Amendment generally protects states and state instrumentalities from federal-court suits, and the opinion states that New York had not waived that protection and Congress had not removed it for these § 1983 claims.

Fennell alleged that, in early March 2020, a respiratory therapist at the North Infirmary Command confiscated his C-PAP machine and provided no alternative treatment. The court directed the Clerk to add “Jane/John Doe, NIC Respiratory Therapist” as a defendant under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 21. The court stated that adding this defendant was without prejudice to any defenses that person might assert.

Under the procedure for helping a self-represented litigant identify an unknown defendant, the court ordered the New York City Law Department to determine the respiratory therapist's identity and service address and provide that information to Fennell and the court within 60 days. Within 30 days after receiving the information, Fennell must file an amended complaint naming the defendant. The amended complaint will replace, rather than supplement, the original complaint, and the court will screen it after filing.

Other directions and disposition

The court directed the Clerk to notify the New York City Department of Correction and the New York City Law Department. It requested that the City of New York and Warden Kisa Smalls waive service of summons. The court also directed that the order and complaint be mailed to the New York City Law Department.

The court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Fennell permission to appeal without prepaying fees. The opinion does not decide the merits of the alleged C-PAP-related constitutional violation; it orders further identification, amendment, and screening steps concerning the respiratory therapist.

Disposition

The court dismissed Fennell's claims against the New York City Department of Correction and the New York State Division of Parole. It directed the Clerk to add the Jane/John Doe NIC Respiratory Therapist as a defendant and ordered the identification and amended-pleading procedures described above.