Murphy v. Rodriguez

Background

Adam E. Murphy, who was detained at the Orange County Jail, filed this self-represented civil action against ERT Officer K. Rodriguez, ERT Officer Pullen, ERT Officer Prevukaj (or Prelvukaj), and “Orange County Jail Medical Dept. Wellpath.” The court understood the complaint to assert claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging violations of federal constitutional rights, as well as claims under state law. The court had previously allowed Murphy to proceed without prepaying the filing fee.

Screening and Defendant Substitution

Because Murphy was a prisoner proceeding without prepaying fees, the court screened the complaint under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. The court 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.

The court dismissed Murphy’s claims against “Orange County Jail Medical Dept. Wellpath” for failure to state a claim because that entity was not a “person” who could be sued under § 1983. In light of Murphy’s self-represented status and his stated intention to assert claims against Orange County, the court construed the complaint as asserting claims against Orange County and directed the clerk to replace Wellpath with Orange County as a defendant. The court stated that this amendment was without prejudice to any defenses Orange County might assert.

Service and Discovery

The court directed the clerk to issue summonses and prepare U.S. Marshals Service forms for ERT Officer K. Rodriguez, ERT Officer Pullen, ERT Officer Prevukaj (or Prelvukaj), and Orange County. The Marshals Service was directed to serve those defendants. The court extended the service period to 90 days after the summonses were issued and stated that Murphy should request more time if service was not completed within that period.

The court also ruled that Local Civil Rule 33.2 applied. Under that rule, the defendants must serve responses to specified discovery requests within 120 days after service of the complaint and must quote each request verbatim in their responses.

Legal Clinic and Appeal

The court referred Murphy to the New York Legal Assistance Group’s clinic for possible limited-scope assistance. The order explained that the clinic is a private organization, is not part of the court, and would not automatically become Murphy’s attorney of record.

The court certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to proceed without prepaying fees for an appeal. The opinion does not resolve the merits of Murphy’s remaining claims. Judge Kenneth M. Karas therefore issued a screening and case-management order that dismissed the claims against Wellpath, added Orange County as a defendant, ordered service and discovery, and provided information about possible legal assistance.