Perez v. Molina

Background

The court had previously ordered service of the complaint and asked the individual defendants—described as current or former officers or employees of the New York City Department of Corrections—to waive service. The Department of Corrections declined to waive service for defendants identified as “Captain Mulbrav,” “Captain Smith,” and “Captain Shaw.” It stated that it had no employee named “Mulbrav” and needed more information to identify “Captain Smith” and “Captain Shaw.” The New York City Law Department repeated at an April 4, 2024 case-management conference that the Department of Corrections lacked enough information to identify these defendants.

Order

Relying on the rule that a person representing himself in court is entitled to assistance identifying a defendant, the court ordered Perez to submit a letter by April 11, 2024 if he wished to continue pursuing claims against these three defendants. The letter must provide, if known, each defendant’s first name and badge number; the exact date and approximate time of Perez’s interaction with each defendant; the specific location; how the defendant approached or interacted with him; and a physical description, including approximate height and weight, gender, and skin, eye, and hair color.

Within 30 days after Perez provides the information, the Law Department and the Department of Corrections must identify the defendants, if possible, and either provide addresses where they can be served or state whether the Department of Corrections will accept service for them. The order addressed identification and service only; it did not resolve the merits of Perez’s claims.