Dunaway v. The Village of Mamaroneck

Background

Michael L. Dunaway filed this lawsuit without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that the defendants violated his constitutional rights. He sued the Village of Mamaroneck; the Village of Mamaroneck Police Department; Westchester County; the Westchester County Department of Corrections; and John Does 1–5. The court had previously allowed him to proceed without prepaying filing fees.

Because Dunaway was proceeding without prepaying fees and sought relief from governmental defendants, the court screened the complaint under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. The court explained that it must dismiss claims that are frivolous, malicious, fail to state a legally sufficient claim, seek money from an immune defendant, or fall outside the court’s jurisdiction. It also stated that self-represented complaints are read liberally but must still provide enough facts to make a claim plausible.

Rulings

The court dismissed Dunaway’s claims against the Village of Mamaroneck Police Department and the Westchester County Department of Corrections. It relied on New York law providing that municipal agencies and departments that are only administrative parts of a municipality generally do not have a separate legal identity and cannot be sued.

The court did not dismiss the claims against the Village of Mamaroneck or Westchester County at this stage. Instead, because Dunaway was allowed to proceed without prepaying fees, it directed the Clerk of Court to issue summonses and provide the necessary documents to the U.S. Marshals Service so those defendants could be served.

The court also ordered the Village Attorney and the Westchester County Attorney to determine the identities, badge numbers, and service addresses of the five John Doe prison officials described in the complaint. They were ordered to provide that information to Dunaway and the court within 60 days. Dunaway was ordered to file an amended complaint naming those officials within 30 days after receiving the information; the amended complaint would replace, rather than supplement, the original complaint.

Other orders and disposition

The court ordered the Clerk to mail the order and complaint to the Village Attorney and the Westchester County Attorney and to mail Dunaway a copy of the order and an information package. It certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for purposes of an appeal.

Judge Nelson S. Roman’s order was a screening and service order. It dismissed claims against two municipal departments and established next steps for serving the Village and County and identifying the John Doe defendants; the opinion does not decide whether Dunaway ultimately can prove the alleged constitutional violations.