Osias v. Department of Correction
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:22-cv-00869
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 3
Osias v. Department of Correction: Judge Engelmayer dismissed claims against the Department without prejudice, ordered discovery, and denied fee-free appeal status.
Ruddy Osias’s claims against the New York City Department of Correction were dismissed without prejudice; the order also imposed discovery obligations on the remaining defendants and denied fee-free status for an appeal.
What happened
In Osias v. Department of Correction, Ruddy Osias, representing himself, brought a civil-rights case under federal law. He alleged excessive force and deliberate indifference to serious medical needs during his detention at the Anna M. Kross Center.
The court dismissed Osias’s claims against the New York City Department of Correction because the agency cannot be sued in its own name, but allowed him to pursue those claims against the City of New York. The court also ordered the defendants to answer standard discovery requests within 120 days after receiving the complaint.
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer ruled that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal. The order did not dismiss the claims against the other defendants.
The detailed version
- Osias v. Department of Correction · No. 1:22-cv-00869
- Paul Engelmayer
- Mar. 15, 2022
Background
Ruddy Osias, who was detained at the Vernon C. Bain Center, filed this case without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He asserted claims for excessive force and deliberate indifference to serious medical needs based on events during his detention at the Anna M. Kross Center. The court had previously allowed him to proceed without paying the filing fee in advance.
Screening of the Complaint
The court reviewed the complaint under the prisoner-screening statutes, which require dismissal of claims that are frivolous, malicious, inadequately pleaded, or seek money from a defendant protected from such relief.
The court dismissed Osias’s claims against the New York City Department of Correction. It held that the Department, as an agency of the City of New York, cannot be sued in its own name. The court dismissed those claims without prejudice to Osias’s right to pursue them against the City of New York.
Discovery and Service
The court ruled that Local Civil Rule 33.2 applies to this case. That rule requires defendants in certain prisoner cases to respond to specified court-ordered discovery requests. The defendants must serve responses to those requests within 120 days after service of the complaint and must quote each request verbatim. The court requested that the remaining defendants waive service of summons and directed the Clerk of Court to send Osias the order and an information package.
Appeal-Fee Ruling
The court certified that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith. It therefore denied permission to proceed without paying fees for purposes of an appeal.
Disposition
The court dismissed the claims against the New York City Department of Correction without prejudice, ordered the specified discovery process, and denied fee-free status for an appeal.
Read the full 3-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.