Rivera v. Town of New Fairfield
- Vincent Briccetti
- 7:22-cv-01874
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Rivera v. Town of New Fairfield, Judge Briccetti granted an amended complaint, denied a discovery-conference request without prejudice, and extended service deadlines.
The order directly affected Humberto Rivera, the Town of New Fairfield and its counsel, the identified and unidentified police-related defendants, Sgt. Adam Wagnblas, PO/Trooper Stevenson, the New York State Attorney General’s Office, and the court clerk.
What happened
In Rivera v. Town of New Fairfield, Humberto Rivera, Jr., who was representing himself, sued the Town of New Fairfield and several police-related defendants, including unidentified officers. After information was provided about some unidentified defendants, Rivera asked to replace three of them with their names and requested a discovery conference because another officer remained unidentified.
The court granted Rivera permission to file a second amended complaint by November 21, 2022. That complaint had to replace the earlier complaints and include all necessary facts and the names of the newly identified defendants. The court also extended the deadline to serve several defendants to January 18, 2023, and directed additional efforts to identify Sgt. Wagnblas and PO/Trooper Stevenson. It denied Rivera’s request for a discovery conference without prejudice.
Judge Vincent L. Briccetti entered the order on October 20, 2022. The court said it would screen the second amended complaint after it was filed and directed the New York State Attorney General’s Office to investigate whether PO/Trooper Stevenson and other New York State police officers were involved.
The detailed version
- Rivera v. Town of New Fairfield · No. 7:22-cv-01874
- Vincent Briccetti
- Oct. 21, 2022
Background
Humberto Rivera, Jr., proceeding without a lawyer, sued the Town of New Fairfield; New Fairfield Connecticut Police; First Selectmen Patricia Del Monaco; Selectmen Khris Hall; Selectmen Kim Hansen; Sgt. Adam Wagnblas; PO/Trooper Stevenson; and four unidentified police officers. The opinion states that Rivera filed the action on March 3, 2022, and an amended complaint on March 9, 2022.
The court had previously extended the deadline for serving Sgt. Wagnblas, PO/Trooper Stevenson, and four unidentified officers. The Town’s counsel later responded to Rivera’s requests for information. Counsel identified three John Doe defendants as New Fairfield Resident Trooper’s Office Officer David Koonitsky, Connecticut State Trooper Jaime Olsowy, and Connecticut State Trooper David Tharas. Counsel stated that Sgt. Wagnblas had retired from the New Fairfield Resident Trooper’s Office and that the Town did not know his South Carolina address. Counsel also stated that there was no record of PO/Trooper Stevenson working for the New Fairfield Resident Trooper’s Office and that Stevenson might be a New York police officer.
Motions and rulings
Rivera moved for permission to file a second amended complaint substituting the correct names for John Does 1–3. He also moved for a discovery conference under Local Rule 37.2 because John Doe 4 had not been named.
The court granted Rivera’s motion for leave to file a second amended complaint. It ordered Rivera to file that complaint by November 21, 2022, include the newly identified defendants, and include all factual allegations and other information necessary for his claims against every defendant. The court explained that the second amended complaint would completely replace the earlier complaints.
The court stated that, after Rivera filed the second amended complaint, it would screen the complaint and issue an appropriate order directing the Clerk of Court to issue summonses for the newly identified defendants.
The court also ordered counsel for the Town to make additional good-faith efforts by November 21, 2022, to find an address where Sgt. Wagnblas could be served or to tell the court whether counsel would accept service for him. The court directed the New York State Attorney General to determine whether PO/Trooper Stevenson was involved in the events described in the amended complaint and to identify any other New York State police officers referred to there.
The court extended the deadline for serving Sgt. Wagnblas, PO/Trooper Stevenson, the newly identified defendants, and John Doe 4 to January 18, 2023. It denied without prejudice Rivera’s motion for a Local Rule 37.2 discovery conference. The Clerk was directed to terminate Rivera’s motions, identified as docket entries 39 and 41.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.