Massey v. City of New York

Background

Tyrone H. Massey brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 without a lawyer. He was detained at the Manhattan Detention Complex and alleged that the defendants violated his rights on February 15, 2020, while he was detained at the North Infirmary Command on Rikers Island. In an earlier order, the court allowed him to proceed without prepaying the filing fee.

The defendants named in the caption were the City of New York, the New York City Department of Corrections, and Assistant Deputy Warden Tindal.

Screening standard

The court explained that the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires federal courts to screen complaints filed by prisoners seeking relief from a governmental entity or a government officer or employee. The court must dismiss all or part of a complaint that is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim for relief, seeks money from a defendant legally immune from such relief, or falls outside the court’s subject-matter jurisdiction.

Rulings

The court dismissed Massey’s claims against the New York City Department of Correction because, as a City agency, it did not have the legal capacity to be sued in its own name. The opinion did not dismiss the claims against the City of New York or Assistant Deputy Warden Tindal. Instead, the court requested that those defendants waive service of the summons and directed the Clerk of Court to notify the Department of Correction and the New York City Law Department of the order.

The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Massey permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal. The Clerk was directed to mail Massey a copy of the order and an information package.