Gibson v. The State of New York

Background

Tyriek Gibson, a convicted prisoner incarcerated at the Anna M. Kross Center on Rikers Island, brought this lawsuit without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleged that correction officials were deliberately indifferent to the serious risk that he would contract COVID-19 while confined at the Vernon C. Bain Center. The court had previously allowed Gibson to proceed without paying the filing fee at the start of the case and had directed him to amend his complaint to identify officials involved in the alleged deprivation of his federal rights.

The court screened the amended complaint under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. That law requires dismissal of a prisoner’s complaint, or part of it, if it is frivolous, malicious, fails to state a legally sufficient claim, seeks money from an immune defendant, or falls outside the court’s subject-matter jurisdiction. The court also explained that it must read a complaint filed without a lawyer liberally, but the complaint still must provide enough factual detail to make liability plausible.

Claims Against New York State and the Department of Correction

The court dismissed Gibson’s claims against the State of New York for the same reason stated in an earlier order: the State is generally protected by Eleventh Amendment immunity from suits in federal court. The court also dismissed the claims against the New York City Department of Correction because, as a city agency, it is not an entity that can be sued in its own name.

Because claims against the Department of Correction must instead be brought against the City of New York, the court construed Gibson’s complaint as asserting claims against the City and directed the clerk to add the City as a defendant. The court stated that this amendment was without prejudice to any defenses the City might later assert.

Claims Against the Unnamed Supervisors

The court dismissed Gibson’s claims against the unnamed “Department of Corrections Supervisors” for failure to state a claim. In a § 1983 action, a plaintiff must allege each defendant’s direct and personal involvement in the alleged constitutional violation. A person cannot be held liable merely because that person supervised someone who allegedly violated the plaintiff’s rights. Gibson identified the supervisors in the caption but did not allege facts explaining how any of them were personally involved.

Service and Disposition

The clerk was directed to notify the New York City Department of Correction and the New York City Law Department of the order. The court requested that the City of New York, Captain Robinson, Captain Reyes, and Correction Officer Lopez waive service of summons. Gibson was required to notify the court in writing of any address change, and the court stated that the action could be dismissed if he failed to do so.

The court dismissed the claims against the State of New York, the Department of Correction, and the Department of Correction Supervisors. It added the City of New York as a defendant. The court also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for purposes of an appeal.