Van Orden v. City of Port Jervis - PD

Background

Robert Allen Van Orden III, who was incarcerated in the Orange County Jail, filed a civil-rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleged that members of the City of Port Jervis Police Department used excessive force during his February 7, 2020 arrest. He could not identify the officers because, according to the complaint, he had been knocked unconscious. The court had already granted him permission to proceed without paying the filing fee in advance.

Screening and Defendant Amendment

The court explained that it must screen a complaint filed by a person proceeding without prepaying fees and dismiss claims that are frivolous, malicious, fail to state a claim, seek relief from an immune defendant, or fall outside the court’s subject-matter jurisdiction.

The court dismissed Van Orden’s claims against the City of Port Jervis Police Department because, under New York law, a city department lacks a separate legal identity and cannot be sued. In light of Van Orden’s status as a self-represented litigant and his clear intent to sue the city, the court ordered the Clerk of Court to amend the caption and replace the police department with the City of Port Jervis. The court stated that this amendment was without prejudice to defenses the city might later assert.

The court also added “John Doe Police Officers 1-5, members of the Port Jervis Police Department” as defendants. Relying on the rule that a court may assist a self-represented litigant in identifying an unknown defendant, it directed the City Attorney for the City of Port Jervis to determine the officers’ identities, badge numbers, and service addresses and provide that information to Van Orden and the court within 60 days. The court stated that it would treat the complaint as amended once the officers were identified.

Service and Disposition

Because Van Orden was proceeding without prepaying fees, the court directed the Clerk of Court to issue a summons and provide the necessary papers to the U.S. Marshals Service for service on the City of Port Jervis. The court extended the time for service until 90 days after the summons was issued. It also instructed Van Orden to notify the court of any address change.

Judge Philip M. Halpern’s order dismissed the claims against the City of Port Jervis - PD, added the City of Port Jervis and John Doe Police Officers 1-5 as defendants, and ordered steps to serve the city. The order did not decide the merits of the excessive-force allegation. The court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal.