Urena v. City of New York
- Valerie Caproni
- 1:22-cv-01189
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 10
In Urena v. City of New York, Judge Caproni ordered service steps and Doe-defendant identification but did not decide the claims.
Amaury Urena, the named defendants, the unidentified defendants whose identities must be determined, the New York City Department of Correction, and the New York City Law Department.
What happened
In Urena v. City of New York, Amaury Urena, who was incarcerated at Rikers Island, sued the City of New York and correctional officials without a lawyer. He alleged excessive force and inadequate, delayed medical attention under a federal civil-rights law.
The court requested that several named defendants waive formal service of the lawsuit. It also ordered the New York City Law Department to identify the unnamed correctional officers and other personnel involved, after which Urena must file an amended complaint. The court ordered the identified defendants to respond to specified discovery requests within 120 days.
Judge Valerie Caproni did not decide whether Urena’s allegations were true or whether the defendants were legally responsible. She directed the case’s service and identification procedures and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal from this order.
The detailed version
- Urena v. City of New York · No. 1:22-cv-01189
- Valerie Caproni
- Mar. 8, 2022
Background
Amaury Urena, proceeding without a lawyer, brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal law allowing claims for violations of federal rights by persons acting under state law. Urena alleged that the defendants subjected him to excessive force and denied him adequate and timely medical attention. The complaint named the City of New York; Captain Pines; Captain Clarke; Correction Officer Gordon; Emergency Service Unit Captain Johnson; Captain Chmut; and several unidentified defendants named as John Doe, Jane Doe, or D.W. John Doe. The court had already granted Urena permission to proceed without prepaying the filing fee.
Service of the Named Defendants
The court directed the Clerk of Court to notify the New York City Department of Correction and the New York City Law Department. The court requested that the City of New York, Captain Pines, Captain Clarke, Correction Officer Gordon, Emergency Service Unit Captain Johnson, and Captain Chmut waive service of summons, meaning that they could accept the lawsuit without personal delivery of the summons and complaint.
The court noted that prisoners who receive permission to proceed without prepaying fees must still pay the full filing fee over time under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1).
Identification of Unnamed Defendants
The court found that the complaint appeared to provide enough information for the City of New York to identify three unnamed correctional officers and any other correctional officer, captain, or Emergency Service Unit member involved in events between January 7 and January 14, 2022, at the Robert N. Davoren Center and the George R. Vierno Center. The unidentified people included the correctional officer who allegedly sprayed Urena with a chemical agent after 7:00 p.m. on January 7, 2022, and the correctional officer in charge of the intake post after that time.
The court ordered the New York City Law Department, as the attorney for and agent of the New York City Department of Correction, to determine each unidentified defendant’s identity, badge number, and service address within 60 days. Within 30 days after receiving that information, Urena must file an amended complaint naming the newly identified defendants. The amended complaint will replace, rather than add to, the original complaint. The court stated that it would screen the amended complaint and, if necessary, issue another order concerning service.
Discovery
The court ruled that Local Civil Rule 33.2 applies. That rule requires defendants in certain prisoner cases to answer specific court-ordered discovery requests. The identified defendants must serve responses to the standard interrogatories and document requests within 120 days of the order’s date and must quote each request verbatim in their responses.
Disposition
The court directed the Clerk to notify the relevant correctional agencies and mail the order and complaint to the New York City Law Department, and to mail Urena the order, an information package, and an amended-complaint form. The court certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied Urena permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. The order did not decide the merits of the excessive-force or medical-attention allegations.
Read the full 10-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.