GREEN v. GOODRICH

Filing 37

ORDER granting 36 Plaintiff's Motion for Substitution of Party. Ordered by US DISTRICT JUDGE TILMAN E SELF, III on 6/20/2018. (chc)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
MACON DIVISION
RICHIE GREEN,
Plaintiff,
v.

CIVIL ACTION NO.
5:18-cv-00042-TES

KEAGAN WAYSTACK, GREGORY L.
BUSHWAY, DEBRA GOMEZ, and
FREDERIC D. BRIGHT,
Defendants.
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUBSTITUTION OF PARTY
Before the Court for consideration is Plaintiff’s Motion for Substitution of Party
[Doc. 36]. For the following reasons, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s Motion.
In the instant matter, Plaintiff brought § 1983 claims against Defendant Fredric
Bright, a former Jones County District Attorney, in his official capacity. On May 10, 2018,
Defendants Bright, Bushway, and Gomez submitted a Suggestion of Death Upon the
Record as to Defendant Bright [Doc. 33]. Plaintiff subsequently moved to substitute
Stephen Bradley, the current Jones County District attorney, for Defendant Bright. [Doc.
36]. 1

On September 1, 2015, the day after Defendant Bright retired from his post, the Governor swore Stephen
Bradley into office as the Jones County District Attorney. See Debbie Lurie-Smith, Bradley sworn in as
Ocmulgee top prosecutor, Jones County News (Sept. 9, 2015), https://www.jcnews.com/content/bradleysworn-ocmulgee-top-prosecutor.
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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25 allows for substitution when a party dies and
the claim against him is not extinguished. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 25(a)(1). In the case of public
officers, “[a]n action does not abate when [the officer] who is a party in an official capacity
dies, resigns, or otherwise ceases to hold office while the action is pending. The officer’s
successor is automatically substituted as a party.” See Fed. R. Civ. P. 25(d). This portion
of Rule 25 was deliberately instituted to prevent suits involving public officers from
becoming moot due to personnel changes. See Karcher v. May, 484 U.S. 72, 83 (1987). This
is particularly true in the case of official-capacity suits, like Plaintiff’s action, which
“generally represent only another way of pleading an action against an entity of which
an officer is an agent.” Monell v. Dept. of Soc. Serv.s of City of N.Y., 436 U.S. 658, 690 n.55
(1978).
For these reasons, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s Motion to Substitute Stephen
Bradley for Defendant Fredric Bright [Doc. 36]. The Court hereby instructs the Clerk to
alter the caption as necessary in order to reflect this change.
SO ORDERED, this 20th day of June, 2018.

S/ Tilman E. Self, III
TILMAN E. SELF, III, JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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