Stewart v. Cook County Jail et al

Filing 7

WRITTEN Opinion entered by the Honorable Virginia M. Kendall on 7/9/2012:The Court has reviewed Plaintiff's proposed amended complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 1915A. The Cook County Jail is dismissed as a Defendant. The Clerk is directed to issue summonses for service on Defendants Kameron Matthews, Sunita Williamson, Sheryl Bums, Salvador Martinez, and Carlos Altez, and the U.S. Marshal's Service is directed to serve them. The Clerk is further directed to send Plaintiff a Magistrate Judge Consent Form and Instructions for Submitting Documents along with a copy of this order. Cook County Jail terminated. (For further detail see written opinion). Mailed notice(smm)

Order Form (01/2005)

United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois
Name of Assigned Judge
or Magistrate Judge

Virginia M. Kendall

CASE NUMBER

12 C 3835

CASE
TITLE

Sitting Judge if Other
than Assigned Judge

DATE

July 9, 2012

Curtis Stewart (#2011-0730205) v. Cook County Jail, et al.

DOCKET ENTRY TEXT:

The Court has reviewed Plaintiff’s proposed amended complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. The Cook
County Jail is dismissed as a Defendant. The Clerk is directed to issue summonses for service on Defendants
Kameron Matthews, Sunita Williamson, Sheryl Burns, Salvador Martinez, and Carlos Altez, and the U.S.
Marshal’s Service is directed to serve them. The Clerk is further directed to send Plaintiff a Magistrate Judge
Consent Form and Instructions for Submitting Documents along with a copy of this order.
O [For further details see text below.]

Docketing to mail notices.

STATEMENT
Plaintiff, Curtis Stewart, presently in custody at the Cook County Jail, has filed an amended complaint
as ordered, in his pro se civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff alleges that he suffers from
a hernia. He seeks money damages from Defendants because they allegedly failed to provide medical care to him
while he has been incarcerated at the Cook County Jail.
Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, the court is required to conduct a prompt threshold review of the amended
complaint. Here, accepting Plaintiff’s allegations as true, the court finds that Plaintiff has articulated a colorable
federal cause of action against Defendants Kameron Matthews, Sunita Williamson, Sheryl Burns, Salvador
Martinez, and Carlos Altez for deliberate indifference to a serious medical need. Davis v. Carter, 453 F.3d 686,
696 (7th Cir. 2006).
However, as Plaintiff was instructed in the Court’s order of June 5, 2012, the Cook County Jail is not a
proper defendant as it is not a suable entity. See Castillo v. Cook County Mail Room Dept., 990 F.2d 304, 307
(7th Cir. 1993). Accordingly, Defendant Cook County Jail is dismissed as a Defendant.
The Clerk shall issue summons forthwith for service on Defendants Kameron Matthews, Sunita
Williamson, Sheryl Burns, Salvador Martinez, and Carlos Altez (hereinafter, “Defendants”). The United States
Marshals Service is appointed to serve Defendants. Any service forms necessary for Plaintiff to complete will
be sent by the Marshal as appropriate to serve Defendants with process. The U.S. Marshal is directed to make
all reasonable efforts to serve Defendants. If the medical Defendants can no longer be found at the work address
provided by Plaintiff, the Cook County Jail and/or Cermak Health Care Services shall furnish the Marshal with
Defendants’ last-known addresses. The information shall be used only for purposes of effectuating service [or
for proof of service, should a dispute arise] and any documentation of the address shall be retained only by the
(CONTINUED)
AWL

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STATEMENT
Marshal. Address information shall not be maintained in the Court file, nor disclosed by the Marshal. The Marshal
is authorized to mail a request for waiver of service to Defendants in the manner prescribed by Fed. R. Civ. P.
4(d)(2) before attempting personal service.
Plaintiff is instructed to file all future papers concerning this action with the Clerk of Court in care of the
Prisoner Correspondent. Plaintiff must provide the original plus a judge’s copy of every document filed. In
addition, Plaintiff must send an exact copy of any Court filing to the defendant [or to defense counsel, once an
attorney has entered an appearance on defendant’s behalf]. Every document filed must include a certificate of
service stating to whom exact copies were mailed and the date of mailing. Any paper that is sent directly to the
judge or that otherwise fails to comply with these instructions may be disregarded by the Court or returned to
Plaintiff.

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