Pitt v. County of Rockland

Background

Malcolm Pitt brought a self-represented action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleged that the defendants were deliberately indifferent to a known risk that another detainee would harm him, and that the detainee later slashed him with a razor blade. Pitt also alleged that the defendants attempted to cover up the incident and interfere with his ability to bring a lawsuit. The court said the complaint could also be understood to assert state-law claims.

The court had previously allowed Pitt to proceed without prepaying the filing fees. This status does not eliminate a prisoner’s obligation to pay the full filing fee under the statute cited by the court.

Rockland County Jail

The court held that Rockland County Jail lacked the legal capacity to be sued under New York law because it was an administrative arm without a separate legal identity. The court therefore ruled that Pitt’s claims against the jail had to be dismissed. Because Pitt clearly intended to assert claims against the County of Rockland, the court construed the complaint as asserting claims against the County and directed the Clerk of Court to replace Rockland County Jail with the County in the case. The court stated that this amendment was without prejudice to defenses the County might later assert.

Service of process

Because Pitt had been allowed to proceed without prepaying fees, the court directed the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the County of Rockland, Sergeants Oblenis and Lowe, and Correction Officers Karney, Dawson, Vandunk, and Figueroa. The Clerk of Court was instructed to issue summonses, complete the required service forms with the defendants’ addresses, and provide the necessary papers to the Marshals Service.

The usual rule generally requires service within 90 days after filing the complaint. The court extended Pitt’s service period to 90 days after the summonses were issued because he could not serve the defendants before the court reviewed the complaint and ordered the summonses. The court stated that Pitt should request additional time if service was not completed within that period. It also required Pitt to notify the court in writing if his address changed and warned that the action could be dismissed if he failed to do so.

Discovery requirement

The court ruled that Local Civil Rule 33.2 applied. That rule requires defendants in certain prisoner cases to respond to specified interrogatories and requests for production of documents. The identified defendants must serve their responses within 120 days after service of the complaint and must quote each discovery request word for word in their responses.

Disposition

The court directed the caption to be amended to replace Rockland County Jail with the County of Rockland, directed issuance and service of summonses for the County and the individual defendants, and ruled that Local Civil Rule 33.2 applied. The court certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal. This order addressed the proper defendant and initial service; it did not decide whether Pitt’s allegations were legally or factually correct.