Casiano v. Smalls

Background

Anthony Casiano filed this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 while incarcerated at Auburn Correctional Facility. He represented himself and alleged that, while he was detained by the New York City Department of Correction, the defendants violated his constitutional rights. The court had previously allowed him to proceed without paying the filing fee upfront, although the opinion explains that prisoners remain responsible for the full filing fee under the applicable statute.

Casiano filed a Second Amended Complaint on September 17, 2020. The order addresses the Department of Correction and the service of process for several individual defendants.

Screening and the Department of Correction

The Prison Litigation Reform Act requires courts to screen lawsuits filed by incarcerated people against governmental entities or government officers and employees. At this stage, the court must dismiss claims that are frivolous, malicious, inadequately pleaded, seek money from an immune defendant, or fall outside the court’s subject-matter jurisdiction. The court must read a self-represented person’s complaint generously, but the complaint still must provide enough factual detail to make a claim legally plausible.

The court stated that, for the reasons given in its July 12, 2019 order, Casiano’s claims against the Department of Correction remained dismissed. The conclusion cites 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii), concerning dismissal for failure to state a claim.

Service of Process

The court directed the Clerk of Court to notify the New York City Department of Correction and the New York City Law Department of the order. It requested that Correctional Officer Tim Gray, Correctional Officer K. Shepard, Correctional Officer B. Geradeall, Correctional Officer A. Capehart, Correctional Officer Seivwright, and Warden Kisa Smalls waive service of summons. A waiver would avoid the need for formal service, but the order does not decide the merits of Casiano’s claims against these defendants.

Appeal and Disposition

The court directed the Clerk to send Casiano the order and an information package and to send the order and complaint to the New York City Law Department. It certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for purposes of an appeal.

The order kept Casiano’s claims against the Department of Correction dismissed and requested service waivers from the six individual defendants and Warden Smalls. It did not resolve the underlying constitutional claims against those individual defendants.