Lopez v. Deacon
- Kenneth Karas
- 7:23-cv-07327
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 15
In Lopez v. Deacon, Judge Karas ordered service and identification of unnamed defendants in Lopez’s prison-rights case.
Anthony Lopez, Sergeant J.T. Deacon, the four unidentified correctional officers, the unidentified nurse, the New York State Attorney General, the Clerk of Court, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
What happened
Anthony Lopez, representing himself, sued Sergeant J.T. Deacon, four unidentified officers, and one unidentified nurse under a federal civil-rights law. He alleges that the defendants used excessive force, sexually assaulted him, and failed to provide adequate medical care while he was incarcerated at Fishkill Correctional Facility.
The court directed the Clerk to issue a summons for Sergeant Deacon and have the U.S. Marshals Service serve him. It also ordered the New York Attorney General to identify the unnamed officers and nurse, provide their service addresses within 60 days, and required Lopez to file an amended complaint naming them within 30 days after receiving that information.
Judge Karas also applied a prisoner-discovery rule requiring defendants to answer specified requests within 120 days after service, referred Lopez to a legal clinic, and instructed the Clerk to send the required materials. The order addressed service and case administration; it did not decide whether Lopez’s allegations were true.
The detailed version
- Lopez v. Deacon · No. 7:23-cv-07327
- Kenneth Karas
- Oct. 10, 2023
Background
Anthony Lopez, who was incarcerated at Elmira Correctional Facility when the order was issued, brought this self-represented action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleges that, while incarcerated at Fishkill Correctional Facility, Sergeant J.T. Deacon, four unidentified correctional officers, and one unidentified nurse used excessive force, sexually assaulted him, and failed to provide adequate medical care. The court had previously allowed Lopez to proceed without prepaying filing fees.
Service on Sergeant Deacon
Because Lopez was permitted to proceed without prepaying fees, the court stated that he could rely on the court and the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the defendants. The Clerk was instructed to complete the required service form for Sergeant J.T. Deacon, issue a summons, and provide the Marshals Service with the documents needed for service. The court extended the service period to 90 days after the summons is issued. If service is not completed within that period, Lopez must request more time. The court also stated that Lopez must notify the court in writing if his address changes.
Identifying the Unnamed Defendants
The court determined that the complaint supplied enough information for the New York State Attorney General, acting as the attorney and agent for the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, to identify the four unnamed correctional officers and the unnamed nurse involved in the alleged events on August 21, 2020. The Attorney General was ordered to provide the defendants’ identities, badge numbers where applicable, and service addresses to Lopez and the court within 60 days of the order.
Lopez was directed to file an amended complaint listing the full names of the unnamed defendants within 30 days after receiving that information. The amended complaint will replace, rather than supplement, the original complaint. The court stated that it will screen the amended complaint and, if necessary, direct the Clerk to prepare service materials for the newly identified defendants.
Other Directions
The court referred Lopez to the New York Legal Assistance Group’s clinic for people representing themselves in civil cases. The order explained that the clinic is a private organization, not part of the court, and that Lopez would remain responsible for filing papers and meeting deadlines.
The court also ruled that Local Civil Rule 33.2 applies to the action. Under that rule, defendants must respond to the specified prisoner-case interrogatories and document requests within 120 days after service of the complaint and must quote each request verbatim in their responses.
Disposition
The order instructed the Clerk to issue and arrange service of the summons for Sergeant Deacon, mail the order and complaint to the New York Attorney General, and send Lopez the clinic materials, an amended-complaint form, and an information package. It ordered the Attorney General to identify the unnamed defendants and directed that Local Civil Rule 33.2 applies. The order did not decide the merits of Lopez’s excessive-force, sexual-assault, or medical-care allegations.
Read the full 15-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.