Casiano v. Smalls
- Katherine Failla
- 1:19-cv-05226
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
In Casiano v. Smalls, Judge Failla ordered steps to identify and serve defendants in Casiano’s constitutional-rights lawsuit.
Anthony Casiano; the correctional-officer and other individual defendants; the City of New York; the New York City Department of Correction; and the New York City Law Department.
What happened
Casiano v. Smalls is a lawsuit by Anthony Casiano, who is representing himself, against correctional officers, a warden, Nicholas Frantz, and New York City. Casiano alleges that his constitutional rights were violated while he was detained by the New York City Department of Correction.
The court directed the Clerk to notify the Department of Correction and the City’s Law Department, requested that K. Shepard and Kisa Smalls waive formal service, and treated electronic notice as sufficient service for defendants who had already appeared. The court also directed the City’s Law Department to identify Nicholas Frantz and provide a service address within 60 days.
Judge Katherine Polk Failla issued the order of service and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for any appeal, certifying that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. The order addressed service and case administration, not whether Casiano’s constitutional claims were valid.
The detailed version
- Casiano v. Smalls · No. 1:19-cv-05226
- Katherine Failla
- Jan. 8, 2021
Background
Anthony Casiano, who is incarcerated at Auburn Correctional Facility and is representing himself, filed a Third Amended Complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleges that defendants violated his constitutional rights while he was detained by the New York City Department of Correction. The defendants named in the caption include correctional officers, Capt. Theagere, Nicholas Frantz, Warden Kisa Smalls, and the City of New York.
The court had previously allowed Casiano to proceed without paying the filing fee upfront. The court explained that prisoners remain responsible for the full filing fee even when granted that permission.
Service of the defendants
The court directed the Clerk of Court to notify the New York City Department of Correction and the New York City Law Department about the order. It requested that C.O. K. Shepard and Warden Kisa Smalls waive service of the summons.
The court stated that electronic notice of the Third Amended Complaint was sufficient service for defendants who had already appeared: C.O. Tim Gray, C.O. B. Geradeau, C.O. A. Capehart, C.O. Seivwright, C.O. Rucker, C.O. C. Foote, C.O. K. Luton, Capt. Theagere, and the City of New York.
Because Casiano provided enough information to allow the City’s Department of Correction to identify Nicholas Frantz, the court directed the New York City Law Department to determine Frantz’s identity and the address where Frantz could be served. The Law Department was required to provide that information to Casiano and the court within 60 days. The order also gave instructions concerning electronic or residential service depending on whether Frantz was a current or former Department of Correction employee or official.
Disposition
Judge Katherine Polk Failla entered an order directing these service-related steps. The Clerk was directed to mail the order and an information package to Casiano and to send the order and complaint to the New York City Law Department. The court certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for purposes of an appeal.
The opinion is an order concerning service and case administration. It does not decide the merits of Casiano’s constitutional claims.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.