Lurch, Jr. v. NYCHHC

USDC SDNY DOCUMENT UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT ELECTRON abi ILE?

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK DRO ps DATE FILED: 1/26/2022 ROBERT DEREK LURCH, JR., Plaintiff, 21-CV-1567 (ALC) -against- VALENTIN ORDER NYCHHC, et al., Defendants.

ANDREW L. CARTER, JR., United States District Judge: Plaintiff Robert Derek Lurch (“Plaintiff”), proceeding pro se, brings this action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that Defendants violated his civil rights. ECF No. 2. By order dated November 23, 2021, this Court granted Plaintiff’s request to proceed without prepayment of fees, that is, in forma pauperis (IFP). ECF No. 9.

DISCUSSION Under Valentin v. Dinkins, a pro se litigant is entitled to assistance from the district court in identifying a defendant. 121 F.3d 72, 76 (2d Cir. 1997). In the Complaint (ECF No. 2) and Plaintiff’s letter electronically filed on December 27, 2021 (ECF No. 15), it appears that Plaintiff has supplied sufficient information to permit Defendants to identify “every doctor that diagnosed and treated any inmate (detainee) from 1 AA with the flu or flu-like symptoms but failed to isolate them from general population afterwards.” ECF No. 1 at 1. It is therefore ordered that the New York City Law Department, which is the attorney for and agent of the New York City Department of Correction (DOC) and the City of New York, and Defendant New York City Health + Hospitals (NYCHH), must ascertain the identity of the unknown doctor or doctors that Plaintiff seeks to sue here and an address where the defendant may be served.' Defendants must provide this information to Plaintiff and the Court within sixty days of the date of this Order.

Within thirty days of receiving this information from Defendants, Plaintiff must file an amended complaint naming the unknown doctor defendants. The amended complaint will replace, not supplement, the original complaint. An amended complaint form that Plaintiff should complete is attached to this order. Once Plaintiff has filed an amended complaint, the Court will screen the amended complaint and, if necessary, issue the appropriate order to effect service on the doctor defendants.

CONCLUSION The Clerk of Court is directed to mail a copy of the complaint, this Order, and Plaintiff’s letter electronically filed on December 27, 2021 (ECF No. 15), to the New York City Law Department at 100 Church Street, New York, New York 10007.

An “Amended Complaint” form is attached to this Order.

The Clerk of Court is directed to mail a copy of this Order to Plaintiff, together with an information package, and note service on the docket.

SO ORDERED.

Dated: January 260 , 2022 (Arado J Che New York, New York □□ ANDREW CARTER, JR. United States District Judge the unknown defendant is a current or former DOC employee or official, the New York City Law Department should note in the response to this Order that an electronic request for a waiver of service can be made under the e- service agreement for cases involving DOC defendants, rather than by personal service at a DOC facility. If the unknown defendant is not a current or former DOC employee or official, but otherwise works or worked at a DOC facility, the New York City Law Department must provide a residential address where the individual may be served.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

_____CV_______________ Write the full name of each plaintiff. (Include case number if one has been assigned) AMENDED -against- COMPLAINT (Prisoner) Do you want a jury trial? ☐Yes ☐ No Write the full name of each defendant. 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 above must be identical to those contained in Section IV.

NOTICE The public can access electronic court files. For privacy and security reasons, papers filed with the court should therefore not contain: an individual’s full social security number or full birth date; the full name of a person known to be a minor; or a complete financial account number. A filing may include only: the last four digits of a social security number; the year of an individual’s birth; a minor’s initials; and the last four digits of a financial account number.

See Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5.2.

I. LEGAL BASIS FOR CLAIM State below the federal legal basis for your claim, if known. This form is designed primarily for prisoners challenging the constitutionality of their conditions of confinement; those claims are often brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (against state, county, or municipal defendants) or in a “Bivens” action (against federal defendants). ☐ Violation of my federal constitutional rights ☐ Other: II. PLAINTIFF INFORMATION Each plaintiff must provide the following information. Attach additional pages if necessary.

First Name Middle Initial Last Name State any other names (or different forms of your name) you have ever used, including any name you have used in previously filing a lawsuit.

Prisoner ID # (if you have previously been in another agency’s custody, please specify each agency and the ID number (such as your DIN or NYSID) under which you were held) Current Place of Detention Institutional Address County, City State Zip Code III. PRISONER STATUS Indicate below whether you are a prisoner or other confined person: ☐ Pretrial detainee ☐ Civilly committed detainee ☐ Immigration detainee ☐ Convicted and sentenced prisoner ☐ Other: IV. DEFENDANT INFORMATION To the best of your ability, provide the following information for each defendant. If the correct information is not provided, it could delay or prevent service of the complaint on the defendant.

Make sure that the defendants listed below are identical to those listed in the caption. Attach additional pages as necessary.

Defendant 1: First Name Last Name Shield # Current Job Title (or other identifying information) Current Work Address County, City State Zip Code Defendant 2: First Name Last Name Shield # Current Job Title (or other identifying information) Current Work Address County, City State Zip Code Defendant 3: First Name Last Name Shield # Current Job Title (or other identifying information) Current Work Address County, City State Zip Code Defendant 4: First Name Last Name Shield # Current Job Title (or other identifying information) Current Work Address County, City State Zip Code V. STATEMENT OF CLAIM Place(s) of occurrence: Date(s) of occurrence: FACTS: State here briefly the FACTS that support your case. Describe what happened, how you were harmed, and how each defendant was personally involved in the alleged wrongful actions. Attach additional pages as necessary.

INJURIES: If you were injured as a result of these actions, describe your injuries and what medical treatment, if any, you required and received.

VI. RELIEF State briefly what money damages or other relief you want the court to order.

VII. PLAINTIFF’S CERTIFICATION AND WARNINGS By signing below, I certify to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief that: (1) the complaint is not being presented for an improper purpose (such as to harass, cause unnecessary delay, or needlessly increase the cost of litigation); (2) the claims are supported by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument to change existing law; (3) the factual contentions have evidentiary support or, if specifically so identified, will likely have evidentiary support after a reasonable opportunity for further investigation or discovery; and (4) the complaint otherwise complies with the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11.

I understand that if I file three or more cases while I am a prisoner that are dismissed as frivolous, malicious, or for failure to state a claim, I may be denied in forma pauperis status in future cases.

I also understand that prisoners must exhaust administrative procedures before filing an action in federal court about prison conditions, 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a), and that my case may be dismissed if I have not exhausted administrative remedies as required.

I agree to provide the Clerk's Office with any changes to my address. I understand that my failure to keep a current address on file with the Clerk's Office may result in the dismissal of my case.

Each Plaintiff must sign and date the complaint. Attach additional pages if necessary. If seeking to proceed without prepayment of fees, each plaintiff must also submit an IFP application.

Dated Plaintiff’s Signature First Name Middle Initial Last Name Prison Address County, City State Zip Code Date on which I am delivering this complaint to prison authorities for mailing: