Mejia v. Carter
- Analisa Torres
- 1:21-cv-09049
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Mejia v. Carter, Magistrate Judge Aaron extended Mejia’s deadline to identify a previously unnamed defendant and updated his address.
Alejandro Mejia, the unidentified defendant referred to as “Captain John Doe,” and the other defendants in the case.
What happened
In Mejia v. Carter, Alejandro Mejia had been ordered to file an amended complaint naming a previously unidentified defendant known as “Captain John Doe.” Although he filed an amended complaint, the court said it appeared he had filed it before receiving the information needed to identify that person.
The court extended the deadline to file another amended complaint until April 27, 2022. It said that if Mejia did not file one, the February 8 amended complaint would remain the complaint used in the case. The court warned that failing to name the unidentified defendant could lead to a recommendation that the claims against that person be dismissed. The court also directed the Clerk to update Mejia’s address and send him the order.
Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron issued the order. The order did not decide the underlying claims or dismiss any claims.
The detailed version
- Mejia v. Carter · No. 1:21-cv-09049
- Analisa Torres
- Mar. 30, 2022
Background
On February 8, 2022, the Court ordered Alejandro Mejia to file an amended pleading by March 14, 2022. The purpose was to identify an individual defendant previously listed as “Captain John Doe,” based on information the City of New York had provided to Mejia on February 7, 2022.
Mejia filed an Amended Complaint on February 8, 2022. The order states that this pleading appeared to have been filed before Mejia received the identifying information from the City or the Court’s February 8 order, and it therefore did not name the Doe defendant.
Ruling
The Court extended the deadline for Mejia to file an amended pleading until April 27, 2022. If he did not meet that deadline, the February 8 Amended Complaint, identified as ECF No. 13, would remain the operative pleading—the complaint used to proceed with the case.
The Court warned that failing to name the Doe defendant could result in a recommendation to the District Judge that the claims against that defendant be dismissed. The order did not itself dismiss those claims. It also reminded Mejia, who was proceeding without a lawyer, that he was responsible for notifying the Court about address changes.
The Clerk was directed to update Mejia’s address to Otis Bantum Correctional Center and mail him a copy of the order. Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron signed the order on March 30, 2022. The order addressed case-management matters and did not decide the merits of Mejia’s claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.