Cano v. City of New York
- Lorna Schofield
- 1:23-cv-03733
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 10
In Cano v. City of New York, Judge Schofield ordered service steps and discovery while helping identify unnamed defendants.
Christopher Hiram Cano, the identified City of New York and Department of Correction defendants, unidentified Department of Correction personnel, the City’s Corporation Counsel, and the Clerk of Court.
What happened
In Cano v. City of New York, Christopher Hiram Cano, who was being held at the George R. Vierno Center on Rikers Island, brought federal and state claims. The court had already allowed him to proceed without paying fees upfront.
The court requested that the City of New York and five identified Department of Correction defendants waive formal service of the lawsuit. It also required those defendants to answer standard prisoner-case discovery requests within 120 days.
Judge Lorna G. Schofield directed the City’s Corporation Counsel to identify additional Department of Correction personnel and provide addresses for service. Cano must file an amended complaint naming any newly identified defendants within 30 days after receiving that information.
The detailed version
- Cano v. City of New York · No. 1:23-cv-03733
- Lorna Schofield
- June 12, 2023
Background
Christopher Hiram Cano filed an action asserting federal and state-law claims. The opinion states that he was being held at the George R. Vierno Center on Rikers Island and was proceeding without a lawyer. In an earlier order, the court allowed him to proceed without paying the filing fee upfront, while noting that prisoners must still pay the full filing fee over time as required by federal law.
Court’s directives
The court requested that six identified defendants waive service of summonses: the City of New York; the Warden of the North Infirmary Command; Deputy Warden Booker; Correction Captain Fernandez; Correction Officer Gomez; and Gang Intelligence Officer Chambers. The court also directed those defendants to comply with Local Civil Rule 33.2, which requires responses to specified discovery requests in certain prisoner cases. Their responses were due within 120 days of the order.
The court further directed the City’s Corporation Counsel to identify unnamed Department of Correction personnel whom Cano sought to sue. The unidentified personnel included those allegedly involved in transferring Cano from the North Infirmary Command around December 15, 2021; storing and maintaining his property between that transfer and January 21, 2022; and returning seven bags of his property around January 21, 2022. The Corporation Counsel had to provide the identities, appropriate badge numbers, and service addresses to Cano and the court within 60 days.
Next steps ordered
Within 30 days after receiving the identification information, Cano must file an amended complaint naming the newly identified defendants. The amended complaint will replace, rather than supplement, the original complaint. The court stated that it would screen the amended complaint and, if necessary, issue further service and discovery directions. The court also directed the Clerk of Court to mail Cano information materials and to notify the New York City Department of Correction and the New York City Law Department. The order did not decide the merits of Cano’s federal or state-law claims.
Read the full 10-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.