Blankenship v. Obaisi et al

Filing 22

ORDER REFERRING CASE to Magistrate Judge Donald G. Wilkerson. The Clerk of Court shall prepare for Defendant BIRCH: (1) Form 5 (Notice of a Lawsuit and Request to Waive Service of a Summons), and (2) Form 6 (Waiver of Service of Summons). Signed by Judge G. Patrick Murphy on 11/10/2011. (tjk)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
LEE BLANKENSHIP, IDOC # N71813,
Plaintiff,
vs.
SALEH OBAISI, et al.,
Defendants.

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CIVIL NO. 10-542-GPM

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
MURPHY, District Judge:
This matter is before the Court on the mandate of the United States Court of Appeals for the
Seventh Circuit (Doc. 21). Plaintiff Lee Blankenship, a prisoner in the custody of the Illinois
Department of Corrections (“IDOC”) who currently is incarcerated in the Vienna Correctional Center
(“Vienna”), brings this action pro se pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for alleged violations of his
constitutional rights by persons acting under color of state law. Named as Defendants in the case are
Saleh Obaisi, Kimberly Birch, John Shepherd, and Donald Larson, who are medical personnel at
various IDOC facilities, and Dan Field and John Cox, who are, respectively, a grievance officer at
Vienna and the warden of Vienna. Blankenship alleges that Obaisi, Birch, Shepherd, Larson, Field,
and Cox were deliberately indifferent to Blankenship’s serious medical needs, in violation of the
Eighth Amendment. By order entered January 3, 2011, the Court dismissed Blankenship’s complaint
pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. See
Doc. 5. On appeal from the dismissal, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal
of Blankenship’s Eighth Amendment claim against Birch and remanded the case to this Court for

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further proceedings on the claim. See Doc. 21. Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED as follows:
1.

Consistent with the Court's order entered January 3, 2011, dismissing the claims of

Plaintiff Lee Blankenship against OBAISI, SHEPHERD, LARSON, FIELD, and COX and the
mandate of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued October 20, 2011, affirming the dismissal
of Blankenship’s claims against Obaisi, Shepherd, Larson, Field, and Cox, the Clerk of Court is
directed to terminate Obaisi, Shepherd, Larson, Field, and Cox as parties to this litigation on the
electronic docket of the case.
2.

The Clerk of Court shall prepare for Defendant BIRCH: (1) Form 5 (Notice of a

Lawsuit and Request to Waive Service of a Summons), and (2) Form 6 (Waiver of Service of
Summons). The Clerk is DIRECTED to mail these forms, a copy of the complaint, and this Order
to Defendant’s place of employment as identified by Plaintiff. If Defendant fails to sign and return
the Waiver of Service of Summons (Form 6) to the Clerk within thirty (30) days from the date the
forms were sent, the Clerk shall take appropriate steps to effect formal service on Defendant, and the
Court will require Defendant to pay the full costs of formal service, to the extent authorized by the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
3.

It is further ORDERED that, if Defendant longer can be found at the work address

provided by Plaintiff, the employer shall furnish the Clerk with Defendant’s current work address, or,
if not known, Defendant’s last-known address. This information shall be used only for sending the
forms as directed above or for formally effecting service. Any documentation of the address shall be
retained only by the Clerk. Address information shall not be maintained in the Court’s file or
disclosed by the Clerk.
4.

It is further ORDERED that Plaintiff shall serve upon Defendant (or upon defense
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counsel once an appearance is entered), a copy of every pleading or other document submitted for
consideration by the Court. Plaintiff shall include with the original paper to be filed a certificate
stating the date on which a true and correct copy of the document was served on Defendant or
counsel. Any paper received by a district judge or magistrate judge that has not been filed with the
Clerk or that fails to include a certificate of service will be disregarded by the Court.
5.

Defendant is ORDERED to timely file an appropriate responsive pleading to the

complaint and shall not waive filing a reply pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(g).
6.

Pursuant to SDIL-LR 72.1(a)(2), this action is REFERRED to United States

Magistrate Judge Wilkerson for further pre-trial proceedings.
7.

Further, this entire matter is REFERRED to United States Magistrate Judge

Wilkerson for disposition, as contemplated by Local Rule 72.2(b)(2) and 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), should
all the parties consent to such a referral.
8.

Finally, Plaintiff is ADVISED that he is under a continuing obligation to keep the

Clerk of Court and each opposing party informed of any change in his address; the Court will not
independently investigate his whereabouts. This shall be done in writing and not later than seven (7)
days after a transfer or other change in address occurs. Failure to comply with this Order will cause
a delay in the transmission of court documents and may result in dismissal of this action for want of
prosecution. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b).
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: November 10, 2011

/s/ G. Patrick Murphy
G. PATRICK MURPHY
United States District Judge

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