Maldonado v. Gunsett

Background

Edwin Maldonado filed this action against Officer John Gunsett and other defendants on April 26, 2021. He filed an amended complaint on September 17, 2021, naming thirteen John and Jane Doe defendants whose identities were not provided.

On November 10, 2021, the court issued an order directing the Attorney General’s office to determine the identities of those defendants. This type of directive is called a Valentin order. The court also directed Maldonado to file a second amended complaint naming the defendants once the information became available.

On January 10, 2022, the Attorney General’s office identified seven defendants: John and Jane Doe defendants (1) and (8) through (13). It reported that it could not identify John Doe defendants (2) through (7).

Orders concerning the second amended complaint

The court ordered Maldonado to file a second amended complaint by February 14, 2022, using the attached form. The complaint must include the full names of the seven defendants identified by the Attorney General’s office.

For the six defendants who remained unidentified, the court directed Maldonado, to the greatest extent possible, to provide physical descriptions, titles or ranks, and specific facts about each relevant event. He must also provide the dates and times of those events, or approximate dates and times if the exact information is unknown.

The court stated that the second amended complaint would completely replace the existing complaint rather than supplement it. Maldonado therefore had to include all information necessary to support his claims, but only facts and documents that he believed plausibly supported a violation of his constitutional rights. The court reminded him that factual allegations must be true to the best of his knowledge, information, and belief under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b)(3).

Further proceedings and disposition

The court warned that if Maldonado failed to file the second amended complaint by February 14, 2022, it might dismiss the case for failure to prosecute or failure to comply with a court order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b). After Maldonado filed the complaint, the court would screen it and, if necessary, direct the Clerk’s Office and the U.S. Marshals Service to take steps to serve newly named defendants.

The court also ordered the Attorney General’s office to continue trying to identify John Doe defendants (2) through (7) and to provide their identities and service addresses within thirty days after receiving additional information. The order did not decide whether Maldonado’s constitutional claims were valid. Judge Vincent L. Briccetti certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees.