Sowell v. The New York City Department of Homeless Services

Background

Randy Sowell filed this case under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal law that allows claims against state or local officials for violating constitutional rights. He proceeded without a lawyer and filed for himself and his minor daughter, D.D.S.S. The court had previously given him 60 days to amend his complaint because it found that his initial allegations did not provide enough specific facts to support claims for detention beyond a required release date or false imprisonment.

In the amended complaint, Sowell asserted claims arising from several groups of events: his arrest and criminal proceedings in New Jersey; alleged unlawful detentions and parole-related conduct in New York; alleged assaults, inadequate conditions, denial of medical care, deprivation of basic needs, exposure to COVID-19, religious-rights violations, and retaliation at Department of Correction facilities; alleged misconduct by shelter staff and Department of Homeless Services police; and events involving the New York City Police Department and Public Assistance Office 14th Street.

Ruling on Severance and Transfer

The court applied Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 20 and 21. Rule 20 generally allows multiple defendants to be joined only when the claims arise from the same transaction or related series of events and share common legal or factual questions. Rule 21 allows a court to separate claims or parties. The court concluded that Sowell’s five groups of claims arose from separate events and involved different defendants, witnesses, and evidence. Alleging that multiple defendants harmed him was not enough to combine the matters in one lawsuit.

The court severed four of the five groups of claims. It severed the claims arising from Sowell’s New Jersey arrest and criminal proceedings against Eric Shenkus, Megan Donnovan, Kathrin S. Weigel, Emily Buonadonna, and the Cape May Courthouse. Because the alleged events occurred in Cape May County, New Jersey, the court ruled that venue was proper in the District of New Jersey rather than the Southern District of New York, and transferred those claims there under 28 U.S.C. § 1406(a), a statute allowing transfer when a case was filed in the wrong federal district.

The court also directed the Clerk of Court to open three new civil actions for: (1) claims against Captain Kelly, Officer Guzman, Deputy Warden Harvey, Officer Caruso, Captain Smart, Deputy Warden Leiter, and the New York City Department of Correction concerning conditions and retaliation at correctional facilities; (2) claims against the New York City Department of Homeless Services concerning shelter-related events; and (3) claims against the New York City Police Department and Public Assistance Office 14th Street concerning the May 6, 2022 incident and Sowell’s May 19, 2022 arrest and detention.

Claims Remaining and Disposition

The present action will proceed against Anthony Annucci, Cynthia Brann, Hubert Brown, the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, the New York City Department of Correction, and the New York City Housing Authority Albany Houses. The remaining claims concern parole, parole revocation, alleged detention under parole warrants, and claims Sowell seeks to bring on behalf of D.D.S.S. The New York City Department of Correction will remain in this action for parole and conditions-of-confinement claims and will also be named in one of the new severed actions.

The court did not decide the underlying merits of these claims in this order. It certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied cost-free appeal status for purposes of an appeal. The order severed the unrelated claims, transferred the New Jersey claims, and directed the opening of three separate civil actions.