Jones v. Westchester County Department of Corrections

Background

Steven A. Jones, Jr., who was incarcerated in the Westchester County Department of Corrections, filed this self-represented action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleged that the defendants violated his constitutional rights. The defendants named in the complaint were the Westchester County Department of Corrections; Joseph K. Spano, Commissioner of Corrections; George Latimer, County Executive of Department of Corrections; and Herbert Stoddard, identified as a physician and Wellpath representative.

Reason for Dismissal

The court stated that Jones had previously filed an identical complaint against the same defendants asserting the same claims. That earlier action was pending in the same court under docket number 20-CV-8542 (PMH). Because this case duplicated the pending action, the court concluded that filing and litigating it would serve no useful purpose.

Rulings

The court dismissed this complaint without prejudice to Jones’s pending action under docket number 20-CV-8542 (PMH). Because the court believed Jones may have filed the duplicate complaint by mistake, it directed that he not be charged the $350 filing fee for this action and that funds not be deducted or reserved from his prison trust account for this action.

Judge Colleen McMahon also 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 appeal without paying the required costs. The opinion does not decide whether Jones’s constitutional claims have merit.