Adams v. Coles County Jail et al
Filing
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MERIT REVIEW AND CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER entered by Chief Judge James E. Shadid on 12/4/2017. IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED: 1) Plaintiff's motion for leave to file an amended complaint is granted. 15 . 2) Plaintiff's amended complaint is dismiss ed with prejudice for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 1915A and for failure to follow Court orders. This case is closed. All pending motions are denied as moot. [16, status]. 3) This dismissal shall count as one of the Plaintiff's three allotted strikes pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 1915(g). The Clerk of the Court is directed to record the Plaintiff's strike in the three-strike log and note Plaintiff now has three strikes. 4) In any future litigation concerning prison conditions in which Plaintiff seeks leave to proceed in forma pauperis, Plaintiff MUST inform the Court in writing of his three strikes status pursuant to §1915(g). 5) If the Plaintiff wishes to appeal this dismissal, he may file a notice of appeal with this court within 30 days of the entry of judgment. Fed. R. App. P. 4(a). A motion for leave to appeal in forma pauperis MUST set forth the issues the Plaintiff plans to present on appeal. See F ed. R. App. P. 24(a)(1)(C). If the Plaintiff does choose to appeal, he will be liable for the $505 appellate filing fee irrespective of the outcome of the appeal. 6) If Plaintiff continues to file multiple lawsuits repeating allegations, he could face sanctions up to and including an order that all papers he tenders to the Clerk of the Court be returned unfiled until he pays all outstanding fees in all civil actions he has filed. See full written Order. (VH, ilcd)
E-FILED
Monday, 04 December, 2017 01:59:02 PM
Clerk, U.S. District Court, ILCD
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
JOHN K. ADAMS,
Plaintiff,
COLES COUNTY JAIL, et. al.,
Defendants
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Case No. 17-2062
MERIT REVIEW AND CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER
The Court dismissed Plaintiff’s original complaint pursuant to Rule 8 of the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See September 11, 2017 Merit Review Order. The
Plaintiff had not clearly identified his intended claims, he was attempting to combine
several unrelated claims against different defendants in one lawsuit, and most, if not all,
of his claims were barred by the two year statute of limitations period. See September
11, 2017 Merit Review Order.
Plaintiff’s complaint included “extensive detail concerning a litany of problems
he encountered during his stay at the Coles County Jail as a pretrial detainee from June
13, 2014 to October 1, 2014 and from November 16, 2014 to March 17, 2015.” September
11, 2017 Merit Review Order, p. 1-2. However, the Court did not receive Plaintiff’s
complaint until March 20, 2017. See Houston v Lack, 487 U.S. 266 (1988)(establishing
mailbox rule for prisoner filings); Smith v. Asghar, 114 Fed.Appx. 222, 223–24 (7th Cir.
2004) (pro se prisoners complaint filed on the date it was delivered to prison officials).
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While it was unclear if Plaintiff had exhausted his administrative remedies for any of
his claims, the Court noted “even if Plaintiff was prevented from filing grievances or he
never received a response to any grievance, the statute of limitations period began to
run at the very latest when Plaintiff was transferred to the Illinois Department of
Corrections (IDOC) on March 17, 2015.” September 11, 2017 Merit Review Order, p. 6;
citing Merritte v. Lasalle County Sherriff's Office, 2015 WL 8986857, at *7–8 (N.D.Ill. Dec.
16,, 2015)(once plaintiff moved out of the jail, “the two-year statute of limitations began
to run because (plaintiff) clearly was not going to receive a response to his grievances
from the Defendants when he was no longer housed there.”); Diaz-Guillen v. Vieregge,
2017 WL 2645624, at *2 (S.D.Ill. July 30, 2017)(once plaintiff was moved out of jail ant
into “IDOC custody, he clearly was not going to receive a response to any grievances he
may have filed. As such, the two-year statute of limitations period began to run.”).
Since Plaintiff filed his complaint on March 15, 2017, any events which occurred
prior to March 15, 2015 were time barred. Therefore, Plaintiff’s claims were limited to a
two day period before he was transferred to IDOC on March 17, 2015. In addition, the
Court noted if the Defendants could demonstrate Plaintiff completed the grievance
process earlier, all of his claims would be time barred. See September 11, 2017 Merit
Review Order.
Nonetheless, if Plaintiff still believed he could state a constitutional violation
within this time frame, he was given the option to file an amended complaint “limited
to those claims.” September 11, 2017 Merit Review Order, p. 7. Plaintiff was also given
specific instructions to follow. However, if the pro se Plaintiff believed all his claims
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were time-barred, he was given the option to voluntarily dismiss his case and the Court
would waive the filing fee.
Plaintiff chose to file a motion for leave to amend his complaint. [15]. The motion
is granted pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 15.
The Court is still required by 28 U.S.C. §1915A to “screen” the Plaintiff’s
amended complaint, and through such process to identify and dismiss any legally
insufficient claim, or the entire action if warranted. A claim is legally insufficient if it
“(1) is frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted; or
(2) seeks monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief.” 28 U.S.C.
§1915A.
The Plaintiff has wholly ignored the Court’s directions in his amended
complaint. He continues to combine unrelated claims alleging violations of the
Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12111–213; the Rehabilitation
Act, 29 U.S.C. §§ 794–94e; deliberate indifference to a serious medical condition;
unconstitutional conditions of confinement; excessive force; etc. More important,
Plaintiff again alleges incidents that happened outside the two year statute of
limitations period.
Plaintiff repeatedly refers to specific events which occurred in 2014. (Amd.
Comp., p. 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27). However,
Plaintiff’s only mention of 2015 is his blanket statement that he was denied mental
health care throughout his incarceration. (Amd. Comp., p. 19-20). Given that Plaintiff is
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an experienced litigator1 and the Court specifically advised him of the deficiencies in his
original complaint, Plaintiff’s amended complaint does not clearly allege any incidents
within the statute of limitations period.
Therefore, Plaintiff’s amended complaint is dismissed for failure to state a claim
upon which relief can be granted and for failure to follow the Court’s orders. Since
Plaintiff has failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, the dismissal will
count as a strike pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 1915(g). See Jones v. Bock, 127 S.Ct. 910,
920–21 (2007); Turner v. Wisconsin Dept. of Corrections, 2015 WL 3495497, at *2 (W.D.Wis.
June 3, 2015).
JudgeAlso, since filing his original complaint, Plaintiff has now accumulated three
strikes pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §1915(g). See Adams v Bower, Case No. 17-2061 (9/21/17
strike); Adams v Acevado, Case No. 16-1389 (4/19/17 strike); Adams v. Tillis, Case No. 162233 (11/8/16 strike). This statute provides:
In no event shall a prisoner bring a civil action or appeal a judgment in
a civil action or proceeding under this section if the prisoner has, on 3 or
more prior occasions, while incarcerated or detained in any facility, brought
an action or appeal in a court of the United States that was dismissed on the
grounds that it is frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which
relief may be granted, unless the prisoner is under imminent danger of serious
physical injury. See 28 U.S.C. §1915(g).
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See Adams v Bower, Case No. 17-2061; Adams v Coogan, Case No. 10-3068; Adams v Acevado, Case No. 161389; Adams v. Tillis, Case No. 16-2233; and Adams v Duncan, Case. No. 11-1311 in the Central District of
Illinois; Adams v. ARB, Case No. 16-50029 in the Northern District of Illinois; Adams v Brock, Case No. 08270, in the Northern District of Indiana; and Adams v Snyder, Case No. 04-869; Adams v Snyder, Case No.
07-593 in the Southern District of Illinois.
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Therefore, Plaintiff is admonished in any future litigation concerning prison
conditions in which he seeks leave to proceed in forma pauperis, Plaintiff MUST inform
the Court of his three strikes status pursuant to §1915(g). “An effort to bamboozle the
court by seeking permission to proceed in forma pauperis after a federal judge has held
that §1915(g) applies to a particular litigant will lead to immediate termination of the
suit.” Sloan v. Lesza. 181 F.3d 857, 859 (7th Cir. 1999).
The Court also notes this is not the first time Plaintiff has filed a complaint
alleging the same or similar allegations concerning his stay at the Coles County Jail
from June 13, 2014 to March 17, 2015. See Adams v Bower, Case No. 17-206; Adams v.
Tillis, Case No. 16-2233. Plaintiff is further admonished if he continues to file multiple
lawsuits repeating these allegations, he could face sanctions up to and including an
order that all papers he tenders to the Clerk of the Court be returned unfiled until he
pays all outstanding fees in all civil actions he has filed. See Support Systems
International, Inc. v. Mack, 45 F.3d 185 (7th Cir. 1995).
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED:
1) Plaintiff’s motion for leave to file an amended complaint is granted. [15].
2) Plaintiff’s amended complaint is dismissed with prejudice for failure to state a
claim upon which relief can be granted pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 1915A and
for failure to follow Court orders. This case is closed. All pending motions are
denied as moot. [16, status].
3) This dismissal shall count as one of the Plaintiff’s three allotted strikes
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 1915(g). The Clerk of the Court is directed to
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record the Plaintiff’s strike in the three-strike log and note Plaintiff now has three
strikes.
4) In any future litigation concerning prison conditions in which Plaintiff seeks
leave to proceed in forma pauperis, Plaintiff MUST inform the Court in writing of
his three strikes status pursuant to §1915(g).
5) If the Plaintiff wishes to appeal this dismissal, he may file a notice of appeal
with this court within 30 days of the entry of judgment. Fed. R. App. P. 4(a). A
motion for leave to appeal in forma pauperis MUST set forth the issues the Plaintiff
plans to present on appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 24(a)(1)(C). If the Plaintiff does
choose to appeal, he will be liable for the $505 appellate filing fee irrespective of
the outcome of the appeal.
6) If Plaintiff continues to file multiple lawsuits repeating allegations, he could
face sanctions up to and including an order that all papers he tenders to the Clerk
of the Court be returned unfiled until he pays all outstanding fees in all civil
actions he has filed.
ENTERED this 4th day of December, 2017.
s/ James E. Shadid
____________________________________________
JAMES E. SHADID
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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