Pagan v. Midhudson Forensic Psychiatric Hospital
- Laura Swain
- 1:23-cv-10050
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 7
In Pagan v. Midhudson Forensic Psychiatric Hospital, Judge Swain dismissed the complaint but allowed 30 days to replead.
Jerry Pagan’s federal civil-rights claims were dismissed at the complaint-screening stage. Claims involving Mid-Hudson, Kirby, and Bellevue could be repleaded within 30 days under the conditions stated by the court; claims involving Creedmoor could not be amended in this action, and any challenge to Pagan’s commitment required prior state-court exhaustion.
What happened
In Pagan v. Midhudson Forensic Psychiatric Hospital, Jerry Pagan, who was representing himself, sued psychiatric hospitals and a media-related defendant under a federal civil-rights law. He alleged problems involving his criminal proceedings and commitment, treatment and operations at Bellevue Hospital, mistreatment at Kirby, and being shown on television.
The court dismissed the claims against Mid-Hudson, Kirby, and Creedmoor because those state-operated facilities are protected from this type of federal lawsuit. It dismissed the Bellevue-related claims because the complaint did not provide enough facts, and dismissed the claim against “Media, Public Network” because the opinion says that entity does not exist. The court did not allow amendment of claims based on events at Creedmoor, but allowed Pagan 30 days to provide more facts about possible claims involving Mid-Hudson, Kirby, and Bellevue. It also said Pagan must first challenge his commitment in state court before seeking federal review.
Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed the complaint with 30 days’ leave to replead and directed the clerk to keep the case open until judgment is entered. The court also denied permission to proceed without paying fees for an appeal, finding that any appeal would not be taken in good faith.
The detailed version
- Pagan v. Midhudson Forensic Psychiatric Hospital · No. 1:23-cv-10050
- Laura Swain
- Jan. 16, 2024
Background
Jerry Pagan, proceeding without a lawyer, filed a civil-rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. He was involuntarily committed at Mid-Hudson Forensic Psychiatric Center under New York Criminal Procedure Law § 330.20. He sought a speedy trial and a grand jury proceeding and alleged that his criminal and mental-health proceedings led to years of incarceration and his continued commitment.
Pagan also alleged that he was shown on television, was circumcised and underwent back surgery at Bellevue Hospital without requesting the procedures, and was beaten by staff at Kirby. He sought money damages and an investigation. The court had previously allowed him to proceed without paying filing fees and therefore reviewed the complaint under the statutes governing screening of complaints filed without prepayment of fees.
Claims Against Mid-Hudson and Kirby
The court dismissed the § 1983 claims against Mid-Hudson and Kirby because they are state-operated psychiatric centers. The Eleventh Amendment generally prevents suits against a state, its agents, and its instrumentalities in federal court unless the state has waived immunity or Congress has removed it. The court held that New York had not waived this immunity and that Congress had not removed it through § 1983.
The court granted Pagan 30 days’ leave to replead possible claims about his conditions of confinement at Mid-Hudson and Kirby against individual defendants who were personally involved. Any amended complaint must identify the relevant facts, what each defendant did or failed to do, the approximate date and time, and the general location of each event.
Claims Against Creedmoor
The court also dismissed any § 1983 claims against Creedmoor under the Eleventh Amendment. It declined to grant leave to amend claims based on events at Creedmoor because the opinion states that Creedmoor is in Queens County, which is in the Eastern District of New York, making that district appear to be the more proper venue for those claims.
Claims Related to Bellevue Hospital
The court treated Pagan’s allegations about an allegedly nonconsensual circumcision and back surgery at Bellevue as claims against New York City Health + Hospitals, which operates Bellevue. For a § 1983 claim against a municipal entity, a plaintiff must allege that the entity itself caused the constitutional violation, rather than merely alleging wrongdoing by one employee.
The court dismissed these claims because Pagan did not provide enough information about what happened, when it happened, why he underwent the procedures, who performed them, or why he did not consent. The court granted 30 days’ leave to amend these claims against Health + Hospitals or individual Health + Hospitals employees by supplying supporting facts.
Media-Related Claim
The court dismissed the claim concerning Pagan’s appearance on television for failure to state a claim because “Media, Public Network,” as named in the complaint, was not an entity that exists.
Challenge to Commitment
To the extent Pagan challenged the constitutionality of his continued commitment at Mid-Hudson, the court said he first must challenge the commitment order in state court. Because the complaint did not show that he had exhausted available state-court remedies, the court declined to treat the civil-rights action as a federal petition challenging custody under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. The court stated that Pagan may bring such a petition after exhausting his state remedies.
Disposition
Judge Laura Taylor Swain dismissed the complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B)(ii)–(iii), with 30 days’ leave to replead. The court directed the clerk to hold the matter open until a civil judgment is entered. It certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without prepaying fees. If Pagan did not file an amended complaint within the allowed time, the clerk would be directed to enter judgment.
Read the full 7-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.