Deans v. Cimorelli
- Nelson Roman
- 7:18-cv-02576
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 10
In Deans v. Cimorelle, Judge Roman ordered service, identification of unnamed defendants, and a further amended complaint.
Tashay David Deans, the newly named defendants Orange County New York, Steven M. Newhaus, Karin Hablow, and Carl E. DeBois, the unnamed nurses and doctors, the Orange County Law Department, the Clerk of Court, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
What happened
In Deans v. Cimorelle, Tashay David Deans, representing himself, alleges that defendants denied him medical attention at the Orange County Jail. He filed a second amended complaint naming Orange County, New York, Steven M. Newhaus, Karin Hablow, and Carl E. DeBois, and also described medical staff whose names he did not know.
The court granted Deans permission to proceed without paying the filing fee and directed the Clerk to issue summonses. Because Deans had that permission, the U.S. Marshals Service may serve the newly named defendants. The court also ordered the Orange County Law Department to identify the unnamed nurses and doctors, after which Deans must file a third amended complaint naming them.
Judge Nelson S. Roman issued the supplemental service order on October 4, 2022. The order did not decide whether Deans’s medical-attention claims were legally valid. It also stated that any appeal would not be permitted without prepaying the appeal fee because the court certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Deans v. Cimorelli · No. 7:18-cv-02576
- Nelson Roman
- Oct. 4, 2022
Background
Tashay David Deans filed this action without a lawyer, alleging that defendants denied him medical attention at the Orange County Jail. The court had previously issued service-related orders, and Deans later filed an amended complaint and then a Second Amended Complaint. The Second Amended Complaint names Orange County New York, Steven M. Newhaus, Karin Hablow, and Sheriff Carl E. DeBois. Deans also seeks to sue nurses and doctors who treated his eye conditions at the Orange County Correctional Facility from November 2017 through February 2018 but whose names he did not know.
The opinion states that Deans asserted claims against Orange County under Monell v. Department of Social Services. In this context, a Monell claim seeks to hold a local government responsible for a policy, practice, or custom that caused a constitutional violation. The order does not describe the claims in enough detail to determine their ultimate legal theories or merits.
Rulings and required steps
The court granted Deans’s application to proceed without paying the filing fee. It directed the Clerk of Court to issue summonses for Orange County New York, Steven M. Newhaus, Karin Hablow, and Carl E. DeBois. Deans must serve the summonses and Second Amended Complaint within 90 days after the summonses are issued, or request an extension within that period. The order states that the court may dismiss claims against those defendants under Rules 4 and 41 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure if Deans does neither.
Because Deans was allowed to proceed without prepaying the filing fee, the court stated that he could rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to complete service. The Clerk was ordered to prepare the required service forms, issue the summonses, and provide the Marshals Service with the necessary paperwork.
The court also issued an order requiring assistance in identifying unnamed defendants. It directed the Orange County Law Department to determine the identity, badge number, and service address of each John Doe defendant whom Deans seeks to sue. The Law Department must provide that information to Deans and the court within 60 days of the order. Within 30 days after receiving the information, Deans must file a Third Amended Complaint naming the John Doe defendants. The Third Amended Complaint will replace, rather than supplement, the Second Amended Complaint, and the court will screen it after filing.
Disposition and scope
The order is a procedural service and case-management order. It does not decide whether Deans’s allegations are true or whether his claims ultimately succeed. The court directed the Clerk to mail the order to Deans and to the Orange County Law Department, and certified under 18 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith; it therefore denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal.
Read the full 10-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.