Jackson v. City of Peekskill Police Department

Background

Defendants Alvaro Farias, Detective, Shield #103, and the City of Peekskill had moved to dismiss Walter J. Jackson’s complaint. Jackson, who was proceeding without a lawyer and without prepaying filing fees, sent the court an undated letter stating that he had recently discovered an additional party was involved in the conduct supporting his claims. He asked to add that party as a defendant. The order does not identify the additional party or describe the underlying claims.

Ruling

The court granted Jackson’s request. It ordered him to file an amended complaint, using the attached form, by August 13, 2020. The court stated that the amended complaint would completely replace the original complaint and reminded Jackson that its factual allegations had to be true to the best of his knowledge, information, and belief.

If Jackson filed an amended complaint, Farias and the City of Peekskill could, within 21 days after that filing, either answer the amended complaint or file a motion asking the court to dismiss it. The court did not rule on the defendants’ pending motion to dismiss the original complaint in this order. Judge Vincent L. Briccetti also certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied Jackson permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal.