Swinson v. The City of New York et al, No. 1:2019cv11919 - Document 36 (S.D.N.Y. 2020)

Court Description: ORDER denying as moot 30 MOTION to Dismiss: For the reasons set forth above, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff leave to file an amended complaint by December 31, 2020. The Clerk of Court is directed to strike the purported Amended Complaints (Dkt. #33, 35 ), and to remove the individual defendants first named in the Amended Complaints from the docket. The Court DENIES Plaintiff's November 17, 2020 application to proceed without prepaying fees or costs as moot. (Dkt. #34) The Court DENIES Defendan ts' pending motion to dismiss as moot. The Clerk of Court is directed to terminate the motion at docket entry 30. Defendants are ORDERED to inform the Court on or before January 29, 2021, as to whether they wish to file an Answer or move to dism iss the Amended Complaint. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a), any appeal from this Order would not be taken in good faith; therefore in forma pauperis status is denied for the purpose of an appeal. Coppedge v. United States, 369 U.S. 438, 444-45 (1962). The Clerk of Court is directed to mail a copy of this Order to Plaintiff at his address of record. (Filing Fee due by 12/21/2020. Hazel Jennings (Chief of Dept. of Corrections), Warden Shannon (Deputy Warden of MDC(Female Block)), J. Cottman (Captain of M.A.C.(Female Block)) and Dunbar (Deputy Warden or Warden) terminated. Amended Pleadings due by 12/31/2020.) (Signed by Judge Katherine Polk Failla on 11/19/2020) (jwh) Transmission to Docket Assistant Clerk for processing.

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Swinson v. The City of New York et al Doc. 36 Case 1:19-cv-11919-KPF Document 36 Filed 11/20/20 Page 1 of 11 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK RANDY SWINSON, Plaintiff, 19 Civ. 11919 (KPF) -v.ORDER THE CITY OF NEW YORK, et al., Defendants. KATHERINE POLK FAILLA, District Judge: The Court is in receipt of two documents, filed on November 17, 2020 and November 18, 2020, both of which Plaintiff has captioned his Amended Complaint. (Dkt. #33, 35). The documents, both of which appear to have been certified by Plaintiff on November 12, 2020, include new allegations and name new defendants, and omit the allegations made in Plaintiff’s initial Complaint (Dkt. #2). At a July 24, 2020 conference to discuss Defendants’ anticipated motion to dismiss, with the understanding that Plaintiff wished to bring additional allegations, the Court directed Plaintiff to file an amended complaint by October 30, 2020. The Court subsequently received a letter from Plaintiff, dated September 16, 2020 (Dkt. #26), which, based on its timing and content, the Court understood to be Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint (Dkt. #27). Accordingly, Defendants renewed their application to file a motion to dismiss the Amended Complaint (Dkt. #28), and the Court set a briefing schedule (Dkt. #29). Defendants filed their motion to dismiss and supporting papers on November 9, 2020 (Dkt. #30, 31), and filed an affidavit demonstrating that Dockets.Justia.com Case 1:19-cv-11919-KPF Document 36 Filed 11/20/20 Page 2 of 11 their briefing and copies of the materials relied upon in their briefing were served upon Plaintiff by mail the same day (Dkt. #32). Plaintiff appears to have disregarded the Court’s directive to file a single amended complaint by October 30, 2020. Instead, he has made a series of filings in contravention of the Court’s deadline, none of which contains a unitary set of allegations. These pleadings, which are inconsistent both in the defendants named and the allegations made, fail to “give the defendant fair notice of what the ... claim is and the grounds upon which it rests” as required by Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007). “When a complaint does not comply with the requirement that it be short and plain, the court has the power, on its own initiative or in response to a motion by the defendant, to strike any portions ... or to dismiss the complaint.” Debellis v. White, No. 19 Civ. 8730 (JMF), 2020 WL 5076827, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Aug. 27, 2020) (quoting Salahuddin v. Cuomo, 861 F.2d 40, 42 (2d Cir. 1988)); see also Prezzi v. Schelter, 469 F.2d 691, 692 (2d Cir. 1972) (per curiam) (dismissing complaint where leave to amend had been granted and successive pleadings were “equally prolix and for the most part incomprehensible”). Given the inconsistencies among Plaintiff’s various pleadings, it is unclear to the Court as to what are Plaintiff’s current allegations, and against whom they are made. As Plaintiff’s pleadings fail to meet the requirements of Rule 8, the Court cannot accept them. However, given Plaintiff’s pro se status, the Court will afford Plaintiff the opportunity to file a proper Complaint. The Court ORDERS Plaintiff to file an 2 Case 1:19-cv-11919-KPF Document 36 Filed 11/20/20 Page 3 of 11 Amended Complaint on or before December 31, 2020. The Court is attaching a blank Complaint form that Plaintiff may use as a template. The Court warns Plaintiff that failure to either submit an Amended Complaint in a timely manner or to submit a proper amended complaint will result in dismissal of this action. Further, the Court denies Plaintiff’s November 17, 2020 application to proceed without prepaying fees or costs as moot (Dkt. #34), as the Court has previously granted Plaintiff such leave (Dkt. #4). Regrettably, the Court must deny Defendants’ pending motion to dismiss as moot (Dkt. #30), and directs Defendants to inform the Court on or before January 29, 2021, as to whether they wish to file an Answer or move to dismiss the Amended Complaint. CONCLUSION For the reasons set forth above, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff leave to file an amended complaint by December 31, 2020. The Clerk of Court is directed to strike the purported Amended Complaints (Dkt. #33, 35), and to remove the individual defendants first named in the Amended Complaints from the docket. The Court DENIES Plaintiff’s November 17, 2020 application to proceed without prepaying fees or costs as moot. (Dkt. #34) The Court DENIES Defendants’ pending motion to dismiss as moot. The Clerk of Court is directed to terminate the motion at docket entry 30. Defendants are ORDERED to inform the Court on or before January 29, 2021, as to whether they wish to file an Answer or move to dismiss the Amended Complaint. 3 Case 1:19-cv-11919-KPF Document 36 Filed 11/20/20 Page 4 of 11 Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a), any appeal from this Order would not be taken in good faith; therefore in forma pauperis status is denied for the purpose of any appeal. Coppedge v. United States, 369 U.S. 438, 444-45 (1962). The Clerk of Court is directed to mail a copy of this Order to Plaintiff at his address of record. SO ORDERED. Dated: November 19, 2020 New York, New York KATHERINE POLK FAILLA United States District Judge 4 Case 1:19-cv-11919-KPF Document 36 Filed 11/20/20 Page 5 of 11 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK (In the space above enter the full name(s) of the plaintiff(s). ) COMPLAINT under the Civil Rights Act, 42 U. S. C. § 1983 (Prisoner Complaint) -against- Jury Trial: Q Yes Q No (check one) (In the space above enter the full name(s) of the defendant(s). If you cannot fit the names of all of the defendants in the space provided, please write “see attached” in the space above and attach an additional sheet of paper with the full list of names. The names listed in the above caption must be identical to those contained in Part I. Addresses should not be included here. ) I. Parties in this complaint: A. List your name, identification number, and the name and address of your current place of confinement. Do the same for any additional plaintiffs named. Attach additional sheets of paper as necessary. Plaintiff Name ____________________________________________________________________ ID # _____________________________________________________________________ Current Institution _________________________________________________________ Address __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ B. List all defendants’ names, positions, places of employment, and the address where each defendant may be served. M ake sure that the defendant(s) listed below are identical to those contained in the above caption. Attach additional sheets of paper as necessary. Defendant No. 1 Name ___________________________________________ Shield #__________ Where Currently Employed __________________________________________ Address __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ Rev. 05/2010 1 Case 1:19-cv-11919-KPF Document 36 Filed 11/20/20 Page 6 of 11 Defendant No. 2 Name ___________________________________________ Shield #__________ Where Currently Employed __________________________________________ Address __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ Defendant No. 3 Name ___________________________________________ Shield #__________ Where Currently Employed __________________________________________ Address __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ Defendant No. 4 Name ___________________________________________ Shield #__________ Where Currently Employed __________________________________________ Address __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ Defendant No. 5 Name ___________________________________________ Shield #__________ Where Currently Employed __________________________________________ Address __________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________ II. Statement of Claim: State as briefly as possible the facts of your case. Describe how each of the defendants named in the caption of this complaint is involved in this action, along with the dates and locations of all relevant events. You may wish to include further details such as the names of other persons involved in the events giving rise to your claims. Do not cite any cases or statutes. If you intend to allege a number of related claims, number and set forth each claim in a separate paragraph. Attach additional sheets of paper as necessary. A. In what institution did the events giving rise to your claim(s) occur? _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ B. Where in the institution did the events giving rise to your claim(s) occur? _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ C. What date and approximate time did the events giving rise to your claim(s) occur? _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ Rev. 05/2010 2 Case 1:19-cv-11919-KPF Document 36 Filed 11/20/20 Page 7 of 11 D. Facts: ____________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ W hat h ap p en ed to you ? ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ W ho did w hat? ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ W as anyone else involved? ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ W ho else saw w hat h ap p en ed? _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ III. Injuries: If you sustained injuries related to the events alleged above, describe them and state what medical treatment, if any, you required and received. _______________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ IV. Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies: The Prison Litigation Reform Act (" PLRA" ), 42 U. S. C. § 1997e(a), requires that “ [n]o action shall be brought with respect to prison conditions under section 1983 of this title, or any other F ederal law, by a prisoner confined in any jail, prison, or other correctional facility until such administrative remedies as are available are exhausted. ” Administrative remedies are also known as grievance procedures. A. Did your claim(s) arise while you were confined in a jail, prison, or other correctional facility? Yes ____ Rev. 05/2010 No ____ 3 Case 1:19-cv-11919-KPF Document 36 Filed 11/20/20 Page 8 of 11 If YES, name the jail, prison, or other correctional facility where you were confined at the time of the events giving rise to your claim(s). _________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ B. Does the jail, prison or other correctional facility where your claim(s) arose have a grievance procedure? Yes ____ C. No ____ Do Not Know ____ Does the grievance procedure at the jail, prison or other correctional facility where your claim(s) arose cover some or all of your claim(s)? Yes ____ No ____ Do Not Know ____ If YES, which claim(s)? __________________________________________________________ D. Did you file a grievance in the jail, prison, or other correctional facility where your claim(s) arose? Yes ____ No ____ If NO, did you file a grievance about the events described in this complaint at any other jail, prison, or other correctional facility? Yes ____ E. No ____ If you did file a grievance, about the events described in this complaint, where did you file the grievance? ______________________________________________________________________________ 1. Which claim(s) in this complaint did you grieve? ________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 2. What was the result, if any? ___________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 3. What steps, if any, did you take to appeal that decision? Describe all efforts to appeal to the highest level of the grievance process. ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ F. If you did not file a grievance: 1. If there are any reasons why you did not file a grievance, state them here: __________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 2. Rev. 05/2010 If you did not file a grievance but informed any officials of your claim, state who you informed, 4 Case 1:19-cv-11919-KPF Document 36 Filed 11/20/20 Page 9 of 11 when and how, and their response, if any:_______________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ G. Please set forth any additional information that is relevant to the exhaustion of your administrative remedies. __________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________________ Note: You may attach as exhibits to this complaint any documents related to the exhaustion of your administrative remedies. V. Relief: State what you want the Court to do for you (including the amount of monetary compensation, if any, that you are seeking and the basis for such amount). VI. On these claims A. Previous lawsuits: Have you filed other lawsuits in state or federal court dealing with the same facts involved in this action? Yes ____ No ____ Rev. 05/2010 5 Case 1:19-cv-11919-KPF Document 36 Filed 11/20/20 Page 10 of 11 B. If your answer to A is YES, describe each lawsuit by answering questions 1 through 7 below. (If there is more than one lawsuit, describe the additional lawsuits on another sheet of paper, using the same format. ) 1. Parties to the previous lawsuit: Plaintiff Defendants 2. Court (if federal court, name the district; if state court, name the county) ________________ 3. Docket or Index number 4. Name of Judge assigned to your case _________________________________________ 5. Approximate date of filing lawsuit 6. Is the case still pending? Yes ____ No ____ If NO, give the approximate date of disposition ___________________________________ 7. What was the result of the case? (For example: Was the case dismissed? Was there judgment in your favor? Was the case appealed?) ______________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ On other claim s C. Have you filed other lawsuits in state or federal court otherwise relating to your imprisonment? Yes ____ D. No ____ If your answer to C is YES, describe each lawsuit by answering questions 1 through 7 below. (If there is more than one lawsuit, describe the additional lawsuits on another piece of paper, using the same format. ) 1. Parties to the previous lawsuit: Plaintiff Defendants 2. Court (if federal court, name the district; if state court, name the county) _______________ 3. Docket or Index number 4. Name of Judge assigned to your case _________________________________________ 5. Approximate date of filing lawsuit 6. Is the case still pending? Yes ____ No ____ If NO, give the approximate date of disposition _______________________________ 7. Rev. 05/2010 What was the result of the case? (For example: Was the case dismissed? Was there judgment in your favor? Was the case appealed?) ___________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ 6 Case 1:19-cv-11919-KPF Document 36 Filed 11/20/20 Page 11 of 11 I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Signed this day of , 20 . Signature of Plaintiff _____________________________________ Inmate Number _____________________________________ Institution Address _____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________ Note: All plaintiffs named in the caption of the complaint must date and sign the complaint and provide their inmate numbers and addresses. I declare under penalty of perjury that on this _____ day of _________________, 20__, I am delivering this complaint to prison authorities to be mailed to the Pro Se Office of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Signature of Plaintiff: Rev. 05/2010 _____________________________________ 7

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