Terrell v. Pennington et al

Filing 3

ORDER AND OPINION directing the Clerk to ADMINISTRATIVELY CLOSE 09cv3345 into 09cv2385; that Plaintiff amend the complaint within 30 days. The Clerk is directed to send Plaintiff the proper civil rights form and resubmit to the assigned Magistrate Judge upon receipt of the amended complaint or expiration of the deadline. Signed by Judge Thomas W. Thrash, Jr on 12/14/09. (dr)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COUR 'fy' J~"~7S N. NA ~ . , ~T FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA E"V, clerk

ATLANTA DIVISION

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WILLIE JAMES TERRELL, Inmate No . 0840305, Plaintiff, V, CITY OF ATLANTA; RICHARD J . PENNTNGTON ; DARRELL D. JOHNSON ; W. HARRIS, Jr. ; C . FLEMING, Defendants .

PRISONER CIVIL RIGHTS 42 U.S .C . § 1983 CIVIL ACTION NO . 1 :09-CV-2385-TWT

WILLIE JAMES TERRELL, Inmate No . 0840305, Plaintiff,
V.

PRISONER CIVIL RIGHTS 42 U.S.C. § 1983 CIVIL ACTION NO . 1 :09-CV-3345-TWT

CITY OF ATLANTA ; RICHARD J . PENNINGTON ; DARRELL D. JOHNSON ; W. HARRIS, Jr. ; C. FLEMING; CERELYN J . DAMS ; A .G . LINDSEY, Defendants .

ORDE R AND O P INI O N
Plaintiff, an inmate at the Fulton County Jail in Atlanta, Georgia, has

transmitted for filing the above-styled fro' se civil rights actions . In both of these

AO 72A ( R ev .8182)

actions, Plaintiff appears to complain about alleged misconduct in connection with his arrest and prosecution . Because of the similarity between both of the abovereferenced actions, this Court now finds that it would "avoid unnecessary cost and
delay" to consolidate them pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 42(a) .

"Rule 42(a) should be used to expedite trial and eliminate unnecessary repetition
and confusion . A motion to consolidate is not required ; the court may invoke Rule 42(a) sua sponte ." Miller v . United States Postal Service, 729 F .2d 1033,

1036 (5th Cir. 1984) . In this manner, government officials need not defend against multiple, similar suits and Plaintiff need not incur the added financial burden of making periodic payments out of his inmate account to cover the cost of an additional filing fee . Accordingly, this Court hereby DIREC T S the Clerk of this Court to ADMINISTRATIVELY CLOSE Terrell v. Pennington, et a l ., Civil Action No .
1 :49-CV-3345-TWT into Terrell v . Pennington, _et al ., Civil Action No . 1 :09-CV-

2385-TWT .
In both actions, however, Plaintiff's complaint consists of numerous pages

of vague and concusory allegations, and the events about which Plaintiff complains are not entirely clear . 2

AO 72A (Rev.8/82)

Accordingly, Plaintiff is hereby ORDE RED TO AMEND the complaint
within thirty (30) days of the date of this Order . Plaintiff is ORDERED to draft

his complaint on the attached § 1983 form, to write on only one side of the paper pursuant to L .R. 7 .1D N.D . Ga ., to add no more than ten (10) pages to the § 1983 form, and to provide this Court with only factual allegations concerning events in which Plaintiff suffered some injury . Plaintiff is admonished to relate only the facts relevant to his claims and to relate such facts only once . Plaintiff is
instructed to omit legal argument and case citation and to omit unnecessary pages

attached to the complaint . Clearly stated, Plaintiff is instructed to provide a very simple, factual description, without repetition or hyperbole, ofthe events in which he claims in the complaint have violated his constitutional rights . This action shall proceed no further until Plaintiff submits his amended complaint . A failure to comply with this order in a timely fashion will result in a dismissal of the action pursuant to Local Rule 41 .3, N.D . Ga.
The Clerk is DIREC TED to send Plaintiff the proper civil rights form so that Plaintiff can file his amended complaint pursuant to 42 U .S .C . § 1983 .

T he Clerk is FURTHER DIRECTED to RE SUBMIT this action to the
assigned Magistrate Judge upon receipt of the amended complaint or upon

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AO 72A (Rev . 8 182)

expiration ofthe aforementioned period ifthe Plaintiff fails to submit his amended
complaint .

IT IS SO ORDERED this 1-4 day of 2009 .

THOMAS W . THRASH, JR . UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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AO 72A (Rev .8/82)