Rivera v. Molina
- Paul Engelmayer
- 1:23-cv-04128
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
In Rivera v. Department of Corrections, Judge Engelmayer dismissed claims against the agency, added New York City and Deputy Warden Miller, and ordered identification of two unnamed defendants.
Gabriel J. Rivera; the New York City Department of Correction; the City of New York; Deputy Warden Miller; and the unnamed doctor and nurse.
What happened
Gabriel J. Rivera, representing himself, sued under a federal civil-rights law over alleged medical-care problems while detained at West Facility on Rikers Island. He alleged that a doctor and nurse denied him medical care and that Deputy Warden Miller denied his request to transfer to a facility where he could regularly see a nurse.
The court dismissed Rivera’s claims against the New York City Department of Correction because a city agency cannot be sued as a separate entity. It directed the Clerk to replace that agency with the City of New York and to add Deputy Warden Miller as a defendant. The court also ordered the New York City Law Department to identify the unnamed doctor and nurse and provide addresses for service.
Rivera must file a second amended complaint naming those individuals within 30 days after receiving the identifying information, and the court will then screen that complaint. Judge Engelmayer also requested that the City and Deputy Warden Miller waive service and denied fee-free appeal status for this order.
The detailed version
- Rivera v. Molina · No. 1:23-cv-04128
- Paul Engelmayer
- Dec. 29, 2023
Background
Gabriel J. Rivera, who was incarcerated at Elmira Correctional Facility when the order was issued, brought a self-represented action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He alleged that his rights were violated while he was detained at West Facility on Rikers Island. According to the amended complaint, Rivera’s medical conditions required regular access to a nurse, which he could receive at the North Infirmary Command, but Deputy Warden Miller denied his request for a transfer there. Rivera also alleged that a doctor and nurse denied him medical care at West Facility on June 5, 2023.
The opinion notes that the court had previously directed Rivera to file an amended complaint. After he did not timely do so, the action was dismissed, but the court later vacated that dismissal and judgment and reopened the case after receiving Rivera’s amended complaint and letter.
Rulings concerning the defendants
The court dismissed Rivera’s claims against the New York City Department of Correction because, under New York City law, a city agency generally is not an entity that can be sued separately. Because Rivera appeared to intend to assert claims against the City of New York, the court directed the Clerk to amend the caption by replacing the Department of Correction with the City of New York under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 21. The court stated that this amendment did not prevent the City from asserting defenses.
The court also directed the Clerk to add Deputy Warden Miller as a defendant under Rule 21, based on Rivera’s allegations concerning the denied transfer. That addition likewise did not prevent Miller from asserting defenses.
Identifying unnamed defendants and service
The court applied a procedure under which a self-represented litigant may receive help identifying an unnamed defendant. It ordered the New York City Law Department to determine the identities and service addresses of the doctor and nurse identified in Rivera’s complaint. The Law Department must provide that information to Rivera and the court within 60 days of the order.
Within 30 days after receiving the information, Rivera must file a second amended complaint naming the doctor and nurse. That complaint will replace, rather than supplement, the earlier complaint. The court stated that it will screen the second amended complaint and, if needed, ask the newly named defendants to waive service.
The court requested that the City of New York and Deputy Warden Miller waive service of summons. It also certified that an appeal from the order would not be taken in good faith and denied fee-free appeal status for that purpose.
Disposition
The court dismissed Rivera’s claims against the New York City Department of Correction, directed the Clerk to add the City of New York and Deputy Warden Miller as defendants, and ordered the identification of the unnamed doctor and nurse. The order did not decide the underlying medical-care or transfer allegations on their merits.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.