Osias v. Department of Correction

Background

Ruddy Osias brought this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 while detained at the Vernon C. Bain Center. He alleged that, during his detention at the Anna M. Kross Center, the defendants failed to control COVID-19 and the Delta variant, caused him to miss appointments in Queens County Family Court, failed to bring him to medical appointments, and stopped his mental-health medications because of staff shortages. Osias was proceeding without a lawyer and had permission to proceed without paying the filing fee at the start of the case.

The court reviewed the amended complaint under the prisoner-screening statutes. Those statutes require dismissal of claims that are frivolous, malicious, fail to state a legally valid claim, seek money from an immune defendant, or fall outside the court’s jurisdiction.

Rulings on Defendants

The court dismissed all claims against the New York City Department of Correction because a New York City agency is not an entity that can be sued separately. Because Osias clearly intended to assert claims against New York City, the court treated the complaint as asserting those claims against the City and directed the Clerk of Court to replace the Department of Correction with the City of New York in the case caption. The court stated that this amendment did not prevent the City from asserting defenses.

The court dismissed all claims against Vincent Schiraldi, the former commissioner of the Department of Correction, because Osias’s amended complaint did not state a claim against him. The court also dismissed Correctional Health Services because it is a department within New York City Health + Hospitals, which Osias had already named as a defendant.

Service and Further Proceedings

The court asked the City of New York, Warden Kaputo, Captain Sands, and Captain Williams to waive service of the summons. It directed the Clerk of Court to issue a summons for New York City Health + Hospitals and provide the necessary documents to the United States Marshals Service for service.

Because Osias was proceeding without paying the filing fee, the court extended the time to serve New York City Health + Hospitals until 90 days after the summons was issued. The court also stated that Osias must notify the court in writing if his address changes and that the action could be dismissed if he fails to do so.

Disposition

The court dismissed Osias’s claims against the Department of Correction, Schiraldi, and Correctional Health Services; added the City of New York as a defendant; requested waiver of service by the City and three individual defendants; and directed service on New York City Health + Hospitals. The court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without paying the filing fee for purposes of an appeal.