Pek v. Annucci

Background

Byron K. Brown and 29 other incarcerated plaintiffs jointly filed a complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal law allowing claims against state officials for violating federal rights. They alleged that prisoners at Sing Sing Correctional Facility had been denied the right to attend religious services. The complaint was styled as a class action, but most of its allegations concerned Brown. Only 20 of the 30 plaintiffs signed the complaint. Brown alone submitted an application to proceed without prepaying the filing fee and a prisoner authorization.

Why the Court Severed the Claims

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 20 generally permits multiple plaintiffs to join one case when their claims arise from the same event or related events and share legal or factual questions. Rule 21 allows a court to separate claims when doing so would promote fairness, efficiency, and manageable litigation.

The court found that the plaintiffs’ claims arose from their individual experiences. Although they described similar denials of religious services, each plaintiff would need to provide separate facts about when the denial occurred, how the plaintiff was affected, and what steps the plaintiff took to challenge it.

The court also emphasized the logistical problems of jointly litigating a case involving multiple unrepresented prisoners. Each plaintiff could appear only for himself and could not act as another plaintiff’s lawyer. Each unrepresented plaintiff would also have to personally sign filings. Transfers, security restrictions, limited communication, and difficulties sharing documents could lead to piecemeal filings, delays, and missed deadlines. The court concluded that separate cases would allow the claims to be handled more fairly and efficiently.

Order and Effect

The court severed the plaintiffs’ claims from one another under Rule 21. Brown will proceed as the sole plaintiff in this case. The other 29 plaintiffs—Carlos Arriago, Terrence Turner, David Louime, Dennis Antwon, Robert Campbell, Gregory White, Shantee Brooks, Eligidio Lind, Teddy Williams, Hector L. DeJesus, Apolinar Roque, Ricardo Corbin, Terel Overton, Alex Martinez, Deshard Wright, Clayton Scott, Michael A. Crane, Kevin Bussey, Eric Pek, Vaughn Campbell, Ivan T. Ramos, Daniel Jones, Dwayne Reed, Ivan Seabrooks, James Scott, Alen Haymon, Alfonso A. Howard, Stephen Robinson, and Trevor Price—will each receive a new case number. Copies of the complaint, the motion for appointment of counsel, and the order will be placed in each new case.

The new cases will proceed independently, and each plaintiff will be directed either to pay the $402 filing fee or to submit an application to proceed without prepaying the fee and a prisoner authorization. The court noted that the cases could later be treated as related or consolidated if appropriate. It also certified that an appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free status for purposes of an appeal. The order did not decide whether the alleged denial of religious services violated the plaintiffs’ rights.