Brown v. City of New York

Filing 4

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER: Pro se Plaintiff Margie Brown, proceeding in forma pauperis, seeks two million dollars in damages for incidents that occurred at various homeless shelters where Plaintiff resided over the past three years. The Court hereby grant s Plaintiff's request to proceed in forma pauperis pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915 solely for the purpose of this Order. Plaintiff is further granted thirty days from the date of this Order to amend her complaint as set forth below. Plaintiff shall be afforded thirty days leave to file an amended complaint The Clerk of Court is respectfully requested to provide a "Complaint for Violation of Civil Rights" form to Plaintiff. If Plaintiff elects to file an amended complaint, the am ended complaint must providefacts giving rise to each of her federal claims against any defendants. It must be submitted to the Court within thirty days of the docket entry of this Order. No summons shall issue at this time, and all further proceedin gs are stayed for thirty days for Plaintiff to comply with this Order. If Plaintiff fails to comply with this Order within the time allowed, judgment dismissing this action shall enter. Once submitted, the amended complaint will be reviewed for compl iance with this Order and for sufficiency under Fed. R. Civ. P. 8 and 28 U.S.C. §1915(e)(2)(B). The Court certifies pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and therefore in forma pauperis status is denied for the purpose of any appeal. Coppedge v. United States, 369 U.S. 438, 444-45 (1962). (See attachment for additional details). Ordered by Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall on 1/09/2017. (Basnight, Jasmine)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

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NOT FOR PUBLICATION

MARGIE BROWN,
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
16-CV-6244 (LDH) (ST)

Plaintiff,
-againstCITY OF NEW YORK,
Defendant.

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LASHANN DEARCY HALL, United States District Judge:
Prose Plaintiff Margie Brown, proceeding informa pauperis, seeks two million dollars
in damages for incidents that occurred at .various homeless shelters where Plaintiff resided over

the past three years. The Court hereby grants Plai~tiff s request to proceed in formapauperis
pursuantto 28 U.S.C. § 1915 solely forthe purpose of this Order. Plaintiff is further granted
thirty days from the date of this Order to amend her complaint as set forth below.
STANDARD OF REVIEW
Under 28 tJ.S.C. § 1915 (e)(2)(B), a district court shall dismiss an informa pauperis
action where it is satisfied that the action is "(i) frivolous or malicious; (ii) fails to state a claim
on which relief may be granted; or (iii) seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune
from such relief." The Court construes Plaintiff's pleadings liberally because Plaintiff is prose
and alleges civil rights violations. See Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94 (2007); Sharpe v.

Conole, 386 F.3d 482, 484 (2d Cir. 2004). If a liberal reading of the complaint "gives any
indication that a valid claim might be stated," the Court must grant leave to amend the complaint.

See Cuoco v. Moritsugu, 222 F.3d 99, 112 (2d Cir. 2000).
Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides that a complaint must "contain ..
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. a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." Fed. R.
Civ. P. 8(a)(2). To avoid dismissal, a complaint must plead "enough facts to state a claim to
relief that is plausible on its face." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). A
claim will be considered plausible on its face "when the plaintiff pleads factual content that
allows the court to draw reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct
alleged." Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). Although "detailed factual allegations"
are not required, "[a] pleading that offers 'labels and conclusions' or 'a formulaic recitation of
the elements of a cause of action will not do." Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555).
Similarly, a complaint is insufficient to state a claim "if it tenders 'naked assertion[s]' devoid of
'further factual enhancement."' Id (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 557).

DISCUSSION
Plaintiffs twenty-page complaint, which is accompanied by seventeen pages of
attachments, alleges several incidents that occurred during her tenancy at Brooklyn homeless
shelters since December 2013 and that were allegedly mishandled by the Department of
Homeless Services. (See Compl.) Plaintiff allegedly made reports of theft, abuse, and sexual
orientation discrimination, harassment, and health and safety hazards by various municipal
employees at the shelter and also within the police department and hospitals to which she has
been taken for psychiatric evaluation. (See id at 7-8.) Plaintiff claims that Defendant was
negligent, defamed Plaintiff, failed to comply with a duty of care, revealed Plaintiffs personal
information, and violated Plaintiffs civil rights. (Id at 8.) Plaintiff seeks to ground her claims
in numerous federal civil (28 U.S.C. § 4101; 42 U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1983, 1985, 1986) and criminal
(18 U.S.C. §§ 242, 1305, 1621) statutes, state laws (libel, defamation, negligence), and

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Amendments to the United States Constitution(Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments). (See id)
It.is clear that Plaintiff has had multiple interactions with various shelters' staff over the
course of her residency and that she is dissatisfied with her treatment by them and other
municipal employees who were. involved in police reports and hospital visits. It is not clear,
however, what Plaintiff accuses the Defendant's agents 1 of doing wrong or how the state and
. federal laws to which she cites were violated. Moreover, Plaintiff fails to tie a cause of action or
a theory of relief to the facts she alleges. The Complaint thus fails to provide the Court with
notice of what claim or claims Plaintiff seeks to make or to notify the Defendant of the claims
against it. The City of New York is left not knowing what it allegedly did wrong; only that
Plaintiff thinks employees of its various city agencies somehow violated one·or more of the laws
to which she cites.
The Complaint suffers the further deficiency of failing to supply any facts tending to
· show that the City of New York caused any claimed constitutional violation. As the Second
Circuit has made clear, "isolated acts .... by non-policymaking municipal employees are
generally not sufficient to demonstrate a municipal custom, policy, or usage thatwouldjustify
, municipal liability." Jones v. Town ofE. Haven, 691 F.3d 72, 81 (2d Cir. 2012) (citing Villante v.

Dep 't ofCorr., 786 F.2d 516, 519 (2d Cir.1986)). To the extent she may seek to assert a 42
U.S.C. § 1983 claim against the City ofNew York in her amended complaint, Plaintiff must
"make factual allegations that support a plausible inference that the constitutional violation took
place pursuant either to a formal course of action officially promulgated by the municipality's

1 Plaintiff lists the following six categories of defendants: "various City employees/servants/agents/police
officers/nurses/medical staff ...." (Compl. 7.) She goes on to name eight individuals not otherwise identified or
connected to the facts. (See id)

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governing authority or the act of a person with policy making authority for the municipality."

Missel v. Cnty. ofMonroe, 351 Fed. Appx. 543, 545 (2d Cir. 2009) (quoting Vives v. City ofNew
York, 524 F.3d 346, 350 (2d Cir. 2008)). Municipal liability "may also arise if [a] municipal
defendant failed to train employees to avoid the behavior in question and if the failure rises to the
level of deliberate indifference." Richardson v. City ofNew York, 326 Fed. App'x 580, 581 (2d
Cir. 2009) (citing City of Canton v. Harris, 489 U.S. 378, 388 (1989)).
In light of Plaintiffs pro se status, Plaintiff is afforded thirty days to amend her
Complaint in order to comply with the dictates of Rule 8. See Cruz v. Gomez, 202 F.3d 593 (2d
Cir. 2000) (pro se plaintiff should afforded opportunity to amend complaint prior to dismissal);

Gomez v. USAA Fed Sav. Bank, 171 F.3d 794, 795 (2d Cir. 1999) ("Certainly the court should
not dismiss without granting leave to amend at least once when a liberal reading of the [pro se]
complaint gives any indication that a valid claim might be stated."); lwachiw v. General Electric

Corp., No. 99-CV-3668, 2000 WL 381977, at *2 (E.D.N.Y. Feb. 22, 2000) (prose plaintiff
given leave to re-plead where complaint did not meet the requirements of Rule 8).
Should Plaintiff file an amended complaint, she must satisfy the minimal filing
requirements of Rule 8. The complaint must contain a short, plain statement of the relevant facts
supporting her claim and must provide any defendants with notice of the claims against them.
Plaintiff must include facts pertinent to each claim and cannot rely on generalized allegations of
misconduct. If Plaintiff elects to file an amended complaint, she should list specifically what
injury she suffered, when and how it occurred, and who was responsible for it. Conclusory
allegations are not sufficient. See Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556-57,
570). Finally, Plaintiff must name the individuals who were personally involved as defendants.

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See Farid v. Ellen, 593 F.3d 233, 249 (2d Cir. 2010); Farrell v. Burke, 449 F.3d 470, 484 (2d
Cir. 2006) ("It is well-settled in this Circuit that personal involvement of defendants in alleged
constitutional deprivations is a prerequisite to an award of damages under § 1983."). If Plaintiff
cannot identify defendants at this time, she may designate those defendants as John/Jane Doe.
To aid Plaintiff with this task, the Clerk of Court is respectfully requested to provide a
"Complaint for Violation of Civil Rights" form to Plaintiff.

IV. Conclusion
Plaintiff shall be afforded thirty days leave to file an amended complaint. The Clerk of
Court is respectfully requested to provide a "Complaint for Violation of Civil Rights" form to
Plaintiff. If Plaintiff elects to file an amended. complaint, the amended complaint must provide
facts giving rise to each of her federal claims against any defendants. It must be submitted to the
Court within thirty days of the docket entry of this Order. No summons shall issue at this time,
and all further proceedings are stayed for thirty days for Plaintiff to comply with this Order. If
Plaintiff fails to comply with this Order within the time allowed, judgment dismissing this action
shall enter. Once submitted, the amended complaint will be reviewed for compliance with this
Order and for sufficiency under Fed. R. Civ. P. 8 and 28 U.S.C. §1915(e)(2)(B). The Court
certifies pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and
therefore in forma pauperis status is denied for the purpose of any appeal. Coppedge v. United

States, 369 U.S. 438, 444-45 (1962).
SO ORDERED.
/s/LDH
LASHANN DEARCY HALL
United States District Judge
Dated: Brooklyn, New York
January 9, 2017
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