Almonte v. Doe

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK JOEL ALMONTE, Plaintiff, -against- 24-CV-0818 (CS) JOHN DOE, Dep. of Security; JOHN DOES, VALENTIN ORDER Extraction team, in their individual capacities; AREA §.G.T., in his individual capacity, Defendants.

CATHY SEIBEL, United States District Judge: . Plaintiff Joel Almonte, who is currently incarcerated at Attica Correctional Facility, brings this civil rights complaint pro se alleging that, while he was incarcerated at Fishkill Correctional Facility, Defendants violated his rights.’ By order dated February 16, 2024, the court granted Plaintiff’s request to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”), that is, without prepayment of fees.”

DISCUSSION A. John Doe Defendants 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, Plaintiff supplies sufficient information to permit the New York State Department of Corrections and Community ' Plaintiff originally filed this action in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York. By order dated February 5, 2024, the Honorable John L. Sinatra, Jr, of that court, transferred the matter to this court because the events giving rise to Plaintiffs claims occurred at Fishkill Correctional Facility, which is located in this district. See Almonte v. Doe, No, 23-CV-1320 (ILS) (W.D.N_LY. Feb. 5, 2024), Prisoners are not exempt from paying the full filing fee even when they have been granted permission to proceed IFP. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1).

Supervision to identify the John Doe Dep. of Security, the John Doe members of the extraction team, and the Area Sgt. involved in the alleged deprivation of Plaintiff’s rights on July 31, 2022.

It is therefore ordered that the New York State Attorney General, who is the attorney for and agent of the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, must ascertain the identity and badge number of each John Doe whom Plaintiff seeks to sue here and the addresses where the Defendants may be served. The New York State Attorney General 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, Plaintiff must file an amended complaint naming the John Doe 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 an order directing the Clerk of Court to complete the USM-285 forms with the addresses for the named John Doe Defendants and deliver all documents necessary to effect service to the U.S. Marshals Service.

B. Local Civil Rule 33.2 Local Civil Rule 33.2, which requires defendants in certain types of prisoner cases to respond to specific, court-ordered discovery requests, applies to this action. Those discovery requests are available on the Court’s website under “Forms” and are titled “Plaintiff’s Local Civil Rule 33.2 Interrogatories and Requests for Production of Documents.” Within 120 days of service of the complaint, Defendants must serve responses to these standard discovery requests.

In their responses, Defendants must quote each request verbatim.?

3 If Plaintiff would like copies of these discovery requests before receiving the responses and does not have access to the website, Plaintiff may request them from the Pro Se Intake Unit.

CONCLUSION The Clerk of Court is directed to mail a copy of this order and the complaint to the New York State Attorney General at: 78 Liberty Street, New York, New York 10007.

An amended complaint form is attached to this order.

Local Civil Rule 33.2 applies to this action.

The Clerk of Court is further directed to mail a copy of this order to Plaintiff, together with an information package.

SO ORDERED.

Dated: February 27, 2024 White Plains, New York | { he g "ss CATHY SEIBEL United States District Judge UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK □□ 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?

I Lt Yes TO 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.

Rev, 5/20/16 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 ina “Bivens” action (against federal defendants). (J Violation of my federal constitutional rights L] Other: .

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 Ill. PRISONER STATUS Indicate below whether you are a prisoner or other confined person: CL] Pretrial detainee Civilly committed detainee C] Immigration detainee Convicted and sentenced prisoner L] Other: Page 2 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 ?: 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 Cade Defendant 4: First Name Last Name Shield # Current Job Title (or other identifying information) Current Work Address County, City State Zip Code Page 3 Vv. 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.

Page 4 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.

Page 5 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. understand that if I file three or more cases while J 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, Ialso 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. ] 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 additiona! pages if necessary, If seeking to proceed without prepayment of fees, each plaintiff must also submit an IFP application.

Dated Plaintiff's Signature Prison Address Date on which | am delivering this complaint to prison authorities for mailing: Page 6