Reed v. Medford Fire Department, Inc.Reed v. Medford Fire Department, Inc.
MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER
Michael Reed and Lisa Reed commenced this action against the Medford Fire Department, Inc. (“the Department”), the Board of Fire Commissioners of the Medford Fire District (“the Board of Fire Commissioners”), Franklin Rivera, Henry Pinto, and unspecified members of the Department (“the Defendants”) to recover damages associated with Michael Reed’s discharge from his position as a volunteer firefighter with the Department. In addition, they are seeking damages associated with Michael Reed’s request for records associated with his termination. Presently before the Court is the Defendants’ motion for summary judgment pursuant to
I. BACKGROUND
The following constitute the undisputed facts in the case, with exceptions noted. As an initial matter, the Court notes that while both Michael Reed and Lisa Reed are plaintiffs in this action, most of the facts and causes of action relate solely to Michael Reed. Therefore, unless otherwise stated, all references to “Reed” or “the Plaintiff’ are intended to refer to Michael Reed.
On February 3, 2008, Michael Reed, a volunteer member Medford Fire Department attended a Super Bowl party at the firehouse. On or about February 8, 2008, the Department received a letter from Kathleen Zaugg, the wife of a fellow volunteer firefighter, accusing Reed of inappropriately touching her at the Super Bowl party and requesting disciplinary action against him. In response to Zaugg’s allegation, on February 17, 2008, the Department conducted an interview of Reed. In attendance at this interview were Reed, Chief Franklin Rivera, First Assistant Chief Norman Melcher, and Second Assistant Chief William Wyche. According to the Defendants, at this meeting Reed admitted to Zaugg’s allegations of inappropriate conduct. However, Reed denies the allegations and denies making any admissions at the February 17, 2008 meeting.
On February 20, 2008, Rivera sent Reed a letter advising him that he was suspended from the Department until the next general meeting, which was to be held on March 7, 2008, for violating the Department’s sexual harassment policy. The Department’s sexual harassment policy is set forth in Article IV Section 3 Subdivision (A) of the Department’s by-laws, which states that “conduct unbecoming of a member of the department in public” would be met with disciplinary action or expulsion. (Rodriguez Aff., Ex. E.) Rivera also sent a letter to Henry Pinto, president of the Department, recommending that the Department terminate Reed as a volunteer firefighter. In addition, on or about February 29, 2008, the Board of Fire Commissioners received correspondence from the law firm of Cartier, Bernstein, Auerbach, and Dazzo P.C., advising them that they had been retained by Zaugg in connection with the alleged groping incident.
On March 7, 2008, William Morrissey, Esq. (“Morrissey”), attorney for the Department, sent Reed a “Notice of Charges and Disciplinary Hearing” advising him that a hearing would be held pursuant to New York General Municipal Law § 209 — Í (“GML § 209-l”) and the Department bylaws on March 26, 2008 at 8:00 am in order to address the charges against him. However, at the Department’s general meeting on March 7, 2008, the Department membership voted to withdraw the notice of the hearing and found Reed guilty of the charges. As reflected in the minutes of the March 7, 2008 Hearing (“March 7, 2008 Minutes”), the Department membership concluded that Reed was guilty because: (1) he had been given adequate notice of the March 7, 2008 meeting but failed to appear; (2) he had failed to request a trial; and (3) allegedly he admitted the charges against him at the February 17, 2008 interview. (Rodriguez Aff., Ex. I.) After the members voted that Reed was guilty, the Department’s executive committee voted to terminate Reed from the Department. The next day, on March 8, 2008, on behalf of the Department, Morrissey sent a letter to Reed advising him that the executive committee had voted to remove him from the Department based on his violation of the Department’s sexual harassment policy.
The record does not indicate whether Reed or Stroble responded to Roston’s request for additional information. However, on or about June 19, 2008, Reed filed a petition pursuant to Article 78 of the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules challenging his termination as arbitrary and contrary to law because he was not provided with a hearing in accordance with the Department by-laws and GML § 209 — i (the “Article 78 Petition”). The Article 78 Petition also charged that the Defendants had violated FOIL by denying his request for a copy of the March 7, 2008 Minutes, and requested an order directing the Board of Fire Commissioners and the Department to produce the March 7, 2008 Minutes at their own cost, and to pay Reed’s attorneys’ fees in association with the request. The portion of the Department’s response to the Article 78 Petition annexed to the Affidavit of Joseph Stroble in Opposition to the Motion for Summary Judgment (“Stroble Affidavit”), indicates that the Department attached a copy of the March 7, 2008 Minutes to its response to the Article 78 Petition.
On October 5, 2009, New York Supreme Court Justice Joseph Farneti granted the Article 78 Petition. In his decision, Justice Farneti rejected the Department’s argument that Reed was not entitled to a hearing because he was discharged for a violation of the Department’s by-laws, which is not governed by the municipal law. Instead, Justice Farneti held that the basis for removal was Reed’s misconduct, which is governed by the municipal law. In particular, GML § 209 — Z provides in relevant part that:
3. Removals on the ground of incompetence or misconduct, except for absenteeism at fires or meetings, shall be made only after a hearing upon due notice and upon stated charges ....
4. a. Hearings upon such charges shall be held by the officer or body having the power to remove the person charged with incompetency or misconduct or by a deputy or employee of such officer, or body designated in writing for that purpose.
b. The notice of such hearing shall specify the time and place of such hearing and state the body or person before whom the hearing will be held.
c. Such notice and a copy of such charges shall be served personally upon the accused officer or member at least ten days but not more than thirty days before the date of the hearing.
In accordance with Judge Farneti’s order in Reed I, on November 20, 2009, on behalf of the Department, Morrissey sent to Stroble, Reed’s attorney, who had represented Reed in conjunction with his FOIL request and his Article 78 Petition, a “Notice of Charges and Disciplinary Hearing” (“the Notice”) via certified and regular mail stating that Reed’s hearing would take place on December 9, 2009. However, contrary to the requirements of GML § 209 — Z, the Defendants did not personally serve Reed. The record is silent as to whether the Defendants mailed a copy of the Notice to Reed. Although Stroble admits to receiving notice of the hearing, he contends that he did not inform Reed of the hearing because he was not certain he was still representing him.
Prior to the hearing, Morrissey contacted Stroble with an offer to have an independent hearing officer preside over the hearing in lieu of the President of the Department. On December 8, 2009, Stroble left a voicemail for Morrissey stating that he did not have the authority to consent to an independent hearing officer. Morrissey then sent a follow up letter to Stroble on December 9, 2009 confirming the content of the voicemail, stating that the hearing that evening would be conducted in accordance with the Department’s by-laws, and inviting Stroble to contact him if he wanted to discuss the matter further. (Rodriguez Aff., Ex. O.) The parties dispute whether Stroble’s voicemail was an indication that he had discussed the offer with Reed.
Nevertheless, it is undisputed that, when the Department held the hearing on December 9, 2009, neither Reed nor Stroble were in attendance. Although the parties dispute whether the December 9, 2009 meeting met the definition of a “hearing”, for the purposes of this motion only, the Court will refer to the December 9, 2009 meeting as the “December 9, 2009 Hearing”. At the December 9, 2009 Hearing, Morrissey informed the voting members that they were entitled to find Reed guilty under the by-laws based on his failure to appear, and presented the evidence that he alleged indicated that Reed had notice of the hearing. In particular, Morrissey stated that Article 4 Section 6 of the Department’s by-laws provide that “Any member facing charges shall be notified of the charges in writing at least two weeks before such trial. If the accused willfully neglects or refuses to stand trial he shall be deemed guilty.” (Rodriguez Aff., Ex. J at 7.)
As a result, on February 19, 2010, Reed and his wife Lisa Reed commenced the instant action by filing a complaint against the Department, the Board of Fire Commissioners, Rivera, Pinto, and three John Does, and one Jane Doe who were allegedly involved in formulating or implanting the policies that resulted in his termination. Although it will be addressed more fully in the discussion, the complaint in this action was not a model of clarity. There is little to no differentiation between the various defendants as to what conduct is being attributed to them or what causes of action are being asserted against them.
Viewing the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiffs, the Court construes the complaint as asserting that: (1) the Department deprived Reed of his First Amendment, Eighth Amendment, and Fourteenth Amendment rights in violation of
On December 29, 2010, the Defendants moved for summary judgment pursuant to
For his part, Reed contends that there are genuine issues of material fact as to: (1) whether the Defendants violated FOIA and FOIL by requiring the Plaintiff to
II. DISCUSSION
A. Legal Standard
It is well-settled that summary judgment under
Once the moving party has met its burden, “the nonmoving party must come forward with ‘specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.’ ”
Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp.,
B. As to Plaintiff’s State Law Tort Claims
Michael Reed asserts various state law tort claims in his complaint, including intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, libel, and slander. In addition, plaintiff Lisa Reed asserts a claim for loss of consortium based on the underlying torts. However, despite the fact that these claims are included in the complaint, and were addressed by the Defendants in their summary judgment motion, the Plaintiff did not put forth any argument or evidence as to the existence of a genuine issue of material fact precluding the dismissal of these claims.
If the adverse party does not respond to the summary judgment motion, “summary judgment, if appropriate, shall be entered against the adverse party.”
Reed contends that the Defendants caused him severe emotional distress and pecuniary loss by: (1) intentionally and/or negligently failing to provide him with a hearing in compliance with his due process rights, GML § 209 — Z, and the Department by-laws and (2) denying his FOIL request for the March 7, 2008 Minutes. As a result, Reed asserts state law tort claims against all of the Defendants for negligent infliction of emotional distress and intentional infliction of emotional distress. In addition, Reed asserts causes of action for libel and slander against all of the Defendants based on Rivera’s statement at the March 7, 2008 Hearing that Reed admitted his guilt, which is documented in the March 7, 2008 Minutes. The Defendants argue that all of the state law tort claims should be dismissed because Reed did not file a notice of claim. The Court agrees.
New York law “requires that a notice of claim be served within 90 days after a tort claim arises against a municipality”.
Rowe v. NYCPD,
It is undisputed that the Plaintiff has never filed a notice of claim and therefore cannot sustain state law tort claims against the Department, the Board of Fire Commissioners, or Rivera and Pinto in their official capacities for misconduct associated with either the March 7, 2008 Hearing, the December 9, 2009 Hearing, or the alleged FOIL violations.
Furthermore, to the extent that Reed intended to assert the libel, slander, and intentional infliction of emotional distress claims against Rivera and Pinto in their individual capacities, those claims are time-barred by the one year statute of limitations in New York for intentional torts.
See
Finally, in this regard, the Defendants move for summary judgment dismissing Lisa Reed’s cause of action for
C. As to the FOIA and FOIL Claims
The Plaintiffs allegations in the complaint with respect to the Defendants purported violations of FOIA and FOIL differ from the claims he asserts in opposition to the motion for summary judgment. In the complaint, the Plaintiff asserted that the Defendants violated the federal FOIA and New York FOIL by failing to provide him with a copy of the March 7, 2008 Minutes. To rectify this violation, the Plaintiff sought an order directing the Defendants to provide him with a copy of the March 7, 2008 Minutes and to pay his attorneys fees and other damages in association with the claim. However, this was the nearly identical issue raised and relief requested in the Article 78 Petition that was the subject of Justice Farneti’s decision in Reed I. (Defs.’ Reply, Ex. W ¶¶ 14 & 15.) Thus, the Defendants contend that the Plaintiff is barred by the doctrine of res judicata from rearguing an issue that was already presented and fully litigated before the state court. In opposition to the instant motion, the Plaintiff does not argue or point to any genuine issue of fact suggesting that this claim was not fully litigated and decided before the court in Reed I.
Regardless, the Court finds that the Plaintiff is barred from re-litigating the FOIL cause of action as it is stated in the complaint. The record is clear that the Defendants provided the Plaintiff with the March 7, 2008 Minutes during the course of Reed I and that, as a result, Justice Farneti determined that Reed’s FOIL claim was moot. The order makes no reference to the Plaintiffs claim for attorneys’ fees. However, to the extent Justice Farneti denied the Plaintiffs request for attorneys’ fees, or the Plaintiff believes he was entitled to damages associated with the claim, the Plaintiff waived his opportunity to seek this relief by failing to appeal from the order. Accordingly, on the Plaintiffs FOIA and FOIL claim as stated in the complaint, there is nothing for this Court to resolve and the Defendants’ are entitled to summary judgment dismissing those claims.
However, in opposition to the Defendants’ motion for summary judgment, the Plaintiff asserted an entirely new claim based on the alleged FOIA and FOIL violations. In particular, the Plaintiff contends that neither the FOIA nor the FOIL statutes require an individual to be represented by an attorney in order to receive records. Therefore by requiring him to
As an initial matter, the Court notes that although the Plaintiff asserts violations of both FOIA and FOIL, the parties use the names and the statutes interchangeably. However, the Plaintiff does not allege that he ever requested the March 7, 2008 Minutes pursuant to the federal FOIA statute, nor for that matter could he have made such a request. The Board and the Department, to whom the Plaintiff made the request, are part of a state agency, and the Second Circuit has explicitly stated that the “it is beyond question that FOIA applies only to federal and not to state agencies.”
Grand Cent. P’ship, Inc. v. Cuomo,
The Plaintiff contends that the Defendants’ alleged violation of FOIL deprived him of his right to due process and triggered a cause of action under
Moreover, if a person is denied access to a record in response to a FOIL request, the remedy is to seek review pursuant to Article 78.
Papay,
D.
As
to the
The Defendants have moved for summary judgment dismissing the Plaintiffs
Furthermore, even assuming that there was something improper about Rivera and Pinto serving on the executive committee that terminated the Plaintiff at the March 7, 2008 Hearing, both Rivera and Pinto submitted affidavits stating that they were not on the executive committee that voted to terminate the plaintiff at the December 9, 2009 Hearing, and therefore could not have been directly involved in any due process violations. Thus, even if the Plaintiff intended to assert the
Accordingly, having granted the Defendants summary judgment on the state common law tort claims, and on the
E.
As
to Plaintiff’s
The Defendants have moved to dismiss Plaintiffs claim pursuant to
As an initial matter, although the
The thrust of the Plaintiffs
In order to state a valid claim under
With respect to the underlying constitutional deprivations, although the Plaintiff asserts violations of his First and Eighth Amendment rights, the complaint and the record are void of any facts or evidence that would support either of these claims. In addition, the Court is not aware of any legal basis upon which the Plaintiff can contend his termination or the surrounding circumstances resulted in a violation of his First Amendment or Eighth Amendment rights. Accordingly, because the Court finds that the Plaintiff cannot state a claim pursuant to
As to the Fourteenth Amendment claim, there is no dispute that the Plaintiff is asserting violations of his procedural due process in association with the December 9, 2009 Hearing. However, in opposition to the instant motion, the Plaintiff submitted an affidavit seemingly attempting to argue a deprivation of his rights under the Equal Protection clause or pursuant to
Where a plaintiff alleges violations of procedural due process “the deprivation by state action of a constitutionally protected interest in ‘life, liberty, or property’ is not in itself unconstitutional; what is unconstitutional is the deprivation of such an interest
without due process of law
”.
Zinermon v. Burch,
As to the first step in the analysis, the parties do not appear to dispute that the Plaintiff has a constitutionally protected interest in his continued employment as a volunteer firefighter. In fact, it is well-settled that in New York, “volunteer firefighters are considered public employees and must be afforded due process in disciplinary proceedings, which includes the right to a hearing held ‘upon due notice and upon stated charges’ ”.
See Bigando v. Heitzman,
Having found a property interest, the Court proceeds to the second inquiry, that is, what process volunteer firefighters are entitled to under the Constitution before they can be terminated for cause. Here, the Medford Defendants contend that because a discharged public employee such as the plaintiff can contest the results of a disciplinary hearing in an Article 78 proceeding, this post-deprivation remedy satisfies constitutional due process. It is true that, as a general rule, there can be no procedural due process violation when the state “provides apparently adequate procedural remedies and the plaintiff has not availed himself of those remedies.”
New York State Nat. Org. for Women v. Pataki,
However, the proposition that the availability of an Article 78 proceeding satisfies constitutional due process for
all
challenges to a pre-termination hearing is not supported by the law. The Medford Defendants reliance on
Finley v. Giacobbe,
Thus, consistent with
Hudson,
if the deprivation occurs at the hands of a government actor by way of a “random and unauthorized act,” the constitutional protection of due process does not require a pre-deprivation hearing, and therefore no cause of action under
On the other hand, where the plaintiff alleges a deprivation pursuant to an established state procedure, “the state can predict when it will occur and is in the position to provide a pre-deprivation hearing.”
Rivera-Powell,
Here, the Court finds that there is an issue of fact as to whether the conduct if the Medford Defendants was pursuant to an established state procedure. In
Riverar-Powell,
the Second Circuit noted that, because the Board of Elections had been “delegated the authority to make the kind of deprivation at issue”, namely the removal of candidates from the ballot, the alleged deprivation could be classified as pursuant to an established state procedure.
Id.
Similarly, in the instant case, the Medford Defendants were “delegated the authority to make the kind of deprivation at issue”, namely the termination of the Plaintiff for cause. In particular, GML
In addition, the fact that the Plaintiff contends that the Medford Defendants actions violated the municipal law and Department by-laws does not require a finding that the Medford Defendants conduct was “random and unauthorized.” As the Second Circuit noted in
Burtnieks v. City of New York,
“[decisions made by officials with final authority over significant matters, which contravene the requirements of a written municipal code, can constitute established state procedure.”
“The essential requirements of due process ... are notice and an opportunity to respond.”
Cleveland Bd. of Educ. v. Loudermill,
New York provides a dismissed municipal employee with the opportunity to bring an Article 78 proceeding to challenge “whether a determination was made in violation of lawful procedure, was affected by an error of law or was arbitrary and capricious or an abuse of discretion, including abuse of discretion as to the measure or mode of penalty or discipline imposed”.
See
The Plaintiff does not challenge the adequacy of the post-deprivation procedure available, but rather asserts that an Article 78 proceeding does not satisfy due process because he was constitutionally entitled to, and denied, a pre-termination hearing. In particular, the Plaintiff alleges that the December 9, 2009 Hearing cannot properly be classified as a pre-termination “hearing” for due process purposes because the Medford Defendants: (1) failed to provide constitutionally adequate notice; (2) failed to provide notice in compliance with GML § 209 — Z and the Department by-laws; (3) found him guilty and terminated him in part based on his absence; and (4) terminated him in a decision that was arbitrary, an abuse of discretion, and disproportionate to the alleged misconduct. As set forth below, the Court finds that only the first of these allegations — failing to provide constitutionally adequate notice — can sustain a
1. Constitutionally Adequate Notice
The Plaintiffs contention that he did not receive constitutionally adequate notice of the December 9, 2009 Hearing, if true, would render the pre-termination hearing void. In this regard, “[t]he availability of a post-termination hearing under Article 78, when there was no pre-termination hearing, does not satisfy due process because it violates
Loudermill’s
requirement than employee have minimum due process before being terminated.”
Todaro v. Norat,
Nevertheless, the Medford Defendants assert that, even if the Plaintiff was not given constitutionally adequate notice of the December 9, 2009 hearing, New York courts “have the jurisdiction to review the issue of whether there was proper notice in the disciplinary hearing”. (Br. at 13.) However, the fact that a party can raise a constitutional due process claim in an Article 78 proceeding does not preclude a party from asserting a
Thus, to the extent the Plaintiffs
Receiving notice is integral to a party’s due process rights under the constitution because the “right to be heard has little reality or worth unless one is informed that the matter is pending and can choose for himself whether to appear or default, acquiesce or contest”.
Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank & Trust Co.,
Nevertheless, personal service or service on a party by mail are not the only forms of constitutionally sufficient notice. Rather, the inquiry is case-specific, and “in making the initial determination of what notice is reasonable, the likelihood that a party will learn of the proceedings without notice from the state and his ability to protect himself are relevant circumstances.”
Weigner,
However, regardless of whether notice was reasonably calculated to reach a party “[i]f a party receives actual notice that apprises it of the pendency of the action and affords an opportunity to respond, the due process clause is not offended.”
Baker v. Latham Sparrowbush Assocs.,
Here, the only arguments submitted by either party on the constitutional issue are legal conclusions that service was or was not constitutionally sufficient. Based on the Court’s review of the record, there are a number of issues of fact precluding summary judgment. With regard to whether notice was “reasonably calculated” to reach the Plaintiff, the only undisputed facts are that the Plaintiff was not personally served and that Stroble, the attorney who represented the Plaintiff in association with his FOIL request and Reed I, was served via certified and regular mail. The fact that Stroble had represented the Plaintiff in Reed I does not in and of itself support a finding that notice was “reasonably calculated” to reach the Plaintiff, because Reed I was no longer a “then-pending” proceeding. Absent from the record is any indication as to whether: (1) notice was mailed to the Plaintiff directly or (2) the Medford Defendants confirmed or the Plaintiff had given them reason to believe that Stroble was authorized to accept service on the Plaintiffs behalf for the purposes of the December 9, 2009 Hearing. Stroble himself states that he did not know whether he was still representing the Plaintiff upon the conclusion of Reed I, and therefore this does not appear to be one of the situations where service through an attorney satisfies due process. However, because- the Plaintiff did not move for summary judgment, and neither party directly addressed this issue, the Court does not know enough about the surrounding circumstances to conclusively find that service was not reasonably calculated to apprise the Plaintiff of the December 9, 2009 Hearing.
There are also significant questions of fact as to whether the Medford Defendants have a viable defense based on actual notice. Stroble states in his affidavit in opposition to the instant motion that he did not inform the Plaintiff of the December 9, 2009 Hearing “until after the December 9, 2009 meeting”. (Stroble Aff. ¶ 8.) The only evidence in the record supporting the contention that the Plaintiff had actual notice relates to a voicemail that the Department’s counsel received from Stroble before the hearing stating that he did not have the authority to consent to an independent hearing officer presiding over the hearing. The Medford Defendants characterize this voicemail as an indication that Stroble had discussed the matter with the
2. Claims Regarding the Procedure and Outcome of the December 2009 Hearing
As to the remaining conduct that the Plaintiff contends violated his right to due process, the Court agrees with the Medford Defendants that the availability of a post-deprivation remedy satisfied due process and therefore cannot support a
With respect to the Medford Defendants alleged failure to serve the Plaintiff in accordance with the municipal law or the Department’s by-laws, a lack of compliance with the state or agency’s regulations and procedures is a matter properly raised in an Article 78 proceeding, and does not implicate constitutional due process requirements for the purposes of a
The plaintiff further challenges the Med-ford Defendant’s “policy” of terminating employees without a hearing based on a provision in the Department’s by-laws allowing members to find a member guilty based solely on their absence from the hearing. The Plaintiff is referring to Article IV, Section VI of the by-laws, which states:
Any member facing charges shall be notified of the charges in writing at least 15 calendar days before such trial. If the accused willfully neglects or refuses to stand trial, he shall be deemed guilty.
(Rodriguez Aff., Ex. J at 7.) According to the Plaintiff, this policy directly contradicts the constitutional requirement that a member be afforded a pre-deprivation hearing, and therefore, even if a charged member is absent, a hearing should proceed
in abstensia.
However, as long as the charged employee received notice and an opportunity to respond, a post-deprivation proceeding where an employee can challenge whether additional procedures were required at the actual hearing satisfies due process requirements.
See Campo v. New York City Employees’ Ret. Sys.,
If the Plaintiff prevails on his
Because an Article 78 claim is based on state law and there is no diversity between the parties, it could only be brought into this Court permissively through supplemental jurisdiction.
Although it is unclear whether district courts can exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Article 78 claims, such a determination is not required here because, as previously stated, the additional challenges to the procedures and resulting decision at the December 9, 2009 Hearing are only relevant if the Court finds that the Plaintiff does not have a valid federal claim.
See
However, the Court takes no position on whether these claims would be time-barred in the event the Plaintiff attempts to raise them in state court.
See
III. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons it is hereby:
ORDERED, that the Defendants motion for summary judgment dismissing Michael Reed’s state law claims for: (1) intentional infliction of emotional distress; (2) negligent infliction of emotional distress; and (3) libel and slander is GRANTED, and it is further
ORDERED, the Defendants’ motion for summary judgment dismissing Lisa Reed’s state law claim for loss of consortium is GRANTED, and it is further
ORDERED, that the Defendants’ motion for summary judgment dismissing the
ORDERED, that the Defendants’ motion for summary judgment dismissing the Plaintiffs
ORDERED, that the Defendants’ motion for summary judgment dismissing Plaintiffs
ORDERED, that the Plaintiffs
ORDERED that the parties are directed to appear for a pre-trial conference
ORDERED, that the Clerk of the Court is directed to amend the caption for the case as follows:
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
.........................X
MICHAEL P. REED, Plaintiff,
-against-
MEDFORD FIRE DEPARTMENT, INC., BOARD OF FIRE COMMISSIONERS OF THE MEDFORD FIRE DISTRICT, MEDFORD, NEW YORK, JOHN DOE1, JOHN DOE2, JOHN DOE3 and JANE DOE, Defendants.
........................X
SO ORDERED.