Osias v. Department of Correction
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:21-cv-08877
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Osias v. City of New York, Judge Engelmayer granted defendants summary judgment based on a signed release and closed the case.
The ruling ended Ruddy Osias’s federal civil-rights action against the defendants and closed the case after the court granted their summary-judgment motion.
What happened
In Osias v. City of New York, Ruddy Osias, representing himself, claimed that officials at the Anna M. Kross Center failed to control COVID-19, caused him to miss family-court appointments, failed to bring him to medical appointments, and stopped his mental-health medications because of staff shortages.
The defendants asked for summary judgment, arguing that Osias had signed a general release while settling a separate lawsuit. The release covered claims against the City, Warden Kaputo, and certain City officials, and Osias told the court that he did not oppose the motion. Magistrate Judge Gorenstein recommended granting it.
Judge Paul A. Engelmayer reviewed the recommendation for clear error because no party objected, adopted it in full, granted the defendants’ motion for summary judgment, and directed the Clerk of Court to close the case.
The detailed version
- Osias v. Department of Correction · No. 1:21-cv-08877
- Paul Engelmayer
- July 7, 2023
Background
Ruddy Osias brought a self-represented action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal law that allows claims for certain constitutional violations by state or local officials. He alleged that, while detained at the Anna M. Kross Center on Rikers Island, the defendants failed to control COVID-19 and the Delta variant, caused him to miss appointments in Queens County Family Court, failed to take him to medical appointments at the facility, and discontinued his mental-health medications because of staff shortages.
The court had previously dismissed claims against the New York City Department of Correction, Vincent Schiraldi, and “Correctional Health Services,” added the City of New York as a defendant, and directed service on New York City Health + Hospitals. The case was referred to Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein for pretrial supervision.
Motion for Summary Judgment
The defendants moved for summary judgment, which asks the court to enter judgment without a trial when the legal and factual record does not require one. They argued that Osias had settled a separate lawsuit during this case and had signed a general release on December 26, 2022. According to the opinion, the release covered all claims against, among others, the City, Warden Kaputo, and past and present City officials, employees, representatives, and agents, for claims arising through the date of the release.
Osias notified the court that he did not oppose the motion. Judge Gorenstein issued a Report and Recommendation recommending that the motion be granted in light of Osias’s non-opposition. No party filed an objection.
Review and Ruling
When no party objects to a magistrate judge’s recommendation, the district court reviews it for clear error—an obvious mistake on the record. Judge Paul A. Engelmayer found no facial error, adopted the June 15, 2023 Report and Recommendation in its entirety, and granted the defendants’ motion for summary judgment at docket 54. The court directed the Clerk of Court to terminate the motion and close the case. The opinion also states that the parties’ failure to object waived appellate review of the recommendation.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.