Swinson v. City of New York

Background

Randy Swinson sued the City of New York and other defendants. He had intended to sue two officers whose names were initially unknown and who were therefore identified as Jane Does. Under an earlier court order, the City was required to identify those individuals and provide information for serving them with the lawsuit.

The City reported that the individuals were Captain John Hernandez and Ms. Keziah Eaddy, Community Coordinator. The City stated that, based on information available to it, Hernandez and Eaddy were employed as the Security Deputy Warden and Supervisor of Social Services, respectively, at the Manhattan Detention Complex between January and February 2020. The opinion does not specify which person held which position.

Missed Deadlines

After receiving the City's information, the court ordered Swinson to file a second amended complaint naming the newly identified defendants within 30 days. Swinson did not do so. On January 14, 2021, the court extended the deadline to February 15, 2021, but Swinson still did not file the complaint.

Ruling

Judge Ronnie Abrams gave Swinson one final opportunity to file a second amended complaint naming the individuals identified by the City. The deadline was April 2, 2021. The court warned that failure to file by that date would result in dismissal of the action for failure to prosecute under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b). This order itself did not dismiss the action.

The court attached a second-amended-complaint form and the City's October 28, 2020 letter. It explained that any second amended complaint would replace, rather than supplement, the original and earlier amended complaints. If Swinson filed one, the court would screen it and, if necessary, ask the newly identified defendants to waive service or direct that they be served.