Pitt v. County of Rockland
- Vincent Briccetti
- 7:22-cv-08356
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 8
In Pitt v. Rockland County, Judge Briccetti ordered Malcolm Pitt to file an amended complaint, paused defendants’ response deadline, and denied fee-free appeal status.
Malcolm Pitt, the defendants named in the original complaint, and any newly named defendants who may be identified in the amended complaint.
What happened
In Pitt v. County of Rockland, Malcolm Pitt, who was incarcerated and representing himself without paying filing fees, asked to add and remove defendants and provide omitted details. Several defendants had been served, but proof of service had not been filed for Officer Dawson and Rockland County.
The court ordered Pitt to file a first amended complaint by December 14, 2022. The new complaint must replace the original and include all information needed for his claims. After it is filed, the court will screen it and may arrange service on newly named defendants. The previously served defendants’ deadline to respond to the original complaint was paused.
Judge Vincent L. Briccetti also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied Pitt fee-free status for an appeal. The order did not decide whether Pitt’s underlying claims were legally valid.
The detailed version
- Pitt v. County of Rockland · No. 7:22-cv-08356
- Vincent Briccetti
- Nov. 14, 2022
Background
Malcolm Pitt, an incarcerated person proceeding without a lawyer and without prepaying filing fees, filed this action on September 29, 2022. The court had issued an order directing the clerk to prepare documents for service. On November 8, 2022, Officer Figueroa, Correction Officer Karney, Sergeant Lowe, Sergeant Oblenis, and Officer Vandunk were served. The opinion states that proof of service had not been filed for Officer Dawson or Rockland County.
On November 9, 2022, Pitt wrote to the court that he had left out some details from his complaint and wanted to add one defendant and remove another. He requested permission to file an amended complaint.
Order
The court ordered Pitt to file a first amended complaint by December 14, 2022, using the attached prisoner complaint form. The amended complaint would completely replace the original complaint rather than supplement it, so Pitt was required to include all information necessary for his claims in the new filing.
The court further ordered that, after Pitt filed the amended complaint, it would screen that complaint. If necessary, the court would direct the clerk to issue summonses, complete service forms with addresses for newly named defendants, and send the necessary documents to the U.S. Marshals Service for service.
The court stayed, or paused, the time for the named and previously served defendants to answer, file a motion, or otherwise respond to the original complaint while Pitt filed the amended complaint.
Disposition
Judge Vincent L. Briccetti certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied Pitt permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal. The order did not resolve the merits of Pitt’s underlying claims.
Read the full 8-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.