Vasquez v. Doe
- Cathy Seibel
- 7:20-cv-05851
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 9
In Vasquez v. Doe(s), Judge Seibel ordered Orangetown’s Town Attorney to identify a police sergeant for Vasquez’s civil-rights case.
Kim Vasquez, the Town Attorney for the Town of Orangetown, the unidentified Orangetown police sergeant, and the Clerk of Court are affected. Vasquez must file a second amended complaint after receiving the identification information.
What happened
Kim Vasquez, who was held at the Rockland County Correctional Center and represented himself, sued John Doe(s), Orangetown police officers, and others. The court said Vasquez’s letter and attached report provided enough information for the Town of Orangetown to identify one police sergeant.
The court ordered the Town Attorney for Orangetown to find the sergeant’s identity, badge number, and service address, and provide that information to Vasquez and the court within 60 days. After receiving the information, Vasquez must file a second amended complaint naming the sergeant within 30 days.
The order also stated that the court would screen the second amended complaint and could later direct the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the defendant. Judge Cathy Seibel directed the Clerk of Court to mail the order and related documents to Vasquez and the Town Attorney.
The detailed version
- Vasquez v. Doe · No. 7:20-cv-05851
- Cathy Seibel
- Dec. 1, 2020
Background
Kim Vasquez brought this action under the Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, while being held at the Rockland County Correctional Center. The opinion states that Vasquez was proceeding without a lawyer. The defendants included unidentified Orangetown police officers, including a police sergeant whom Vasquez sought to sue.
The court had previously allowed Vasquez to proceed without prepaying filing fees. The opinion notes that prisoners who receive that permission still must pay the full filing fee through the statutory payment process.
Identification of the Doe Defendant
The court relied on the rule that a self-represented litigant is entitled to the district court’s assistance in identifying an unknown defendant. It found that Vasquez’s November 2, 2020 letter and the attached “Supervisory Use of Force Report” supplied enough information for the Town of Orangetown to identify the referenced police sergeant.
The court ordered the Town Attorney for the Town of Orangetown, acting as the Town’s attorney and agent, to determine the sergeant’s identity, badge number, and address where the sergeant could be served. The Town Attorney must provide that information to Vasquez and the court within 60 days of the order.
Required Amended Complaint and Disposition
Within 30 days after receiving the identification information, Vasquez must file a second amended complaint naming the previously unidentified defendant. The second amended complaint will replace, rather than supplement, the original and amended complaints. The court stated that it would screen the second amended complaint and, if necessary, direct the Clerk of Court to provide the U.S. Marshals Service with the materials needed to serve the named defendant.
The court directed the Clerk to mail the order to Vasquez and to mail the order, the amended complaint, and Vasquez’s November 2 letter to the Town Attorney. Judge Cathy Seibel therefore issued an identification-and-amendment order; the opinion does not decide the merits of Vasquez’s underlying claims.
Read the full 9-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.