Jones v. Madison County Jail

Filing 32

ORDER DISMISSING CASE. This case is DISMISSED with prejudice pursuant to Federal Rule of Covil Procedure 25(a)(1). Signed by Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel on 5/12/15. (klh2)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
JOSHUA JARED JONES,
Plaintiff,
vs.
DONALD BLUNT and
BOBBIE UNFRIED,
Defendants.

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Case No. 13-CV-1164-NJR-DGW

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER OF DISMISSAL
ROSENSTENGEL, District Judge:
This matter is before the Court sua sponte for the purpose of docket control
regarding a potential substitution for Plaintiff Joshua Jared Jones. Mr. Jones filed this
civil rights action in November 2013, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, alleging that Donald
Bunt and Bobbie Unfried refused to treat his brain hemorrhage while he was in custody
at the Madison County Jail (Docs. 1, 6, 9). On December 11, 2014, Defendants filed a
Suggestion of Death indicating that Mr. Jones passed away eight days earlier on
December 3 (Doc. 27).
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25(a)(1), if the plaintiff to a lawsuit dies,
and the claim is not extinguished at death, a motion for substitution may be made by the
decedent's successor or representative. FED. R. CIV. P. 25(a)(1). The motion must be made
within ninety days after service of a statement noting the death, otherwise the action by
the decedent must be dismissed. Id. However, extensions of time are allowed under Rule
6(b). Fed. R. Civ. P. 6(b); see Atkins v. City of Chicago, 547 F.3d 869, 872 (7th Cir. 2008);
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Russell v. City of Milwaukee, 338 F.3d 662, 667 (7th Cir. 2003).
Here, the Court ordered Defendants to personally serve the Suggestion of Death
on Mr. Jones’s next of kin or personal representative (Doc. 28). See Atkins, 547 F.3d at 872
(“[N]onparties with a significant financial interest in the case, namely the decedent's
successors (if his estate has been distributed) or personal representative (it has not been),
should certainly be served.”) Pursuant to the Court’s instructions, the Suggestion of
Death was personally served on Mr. Jones’s mother, Nancy Jones, on January 13, 2015,
and the ninety-day timeframe to file a motion for substitution or a motion for an
extension of time began to run (Docs. 30, 31). FED. R. CIV. P. 25(a)(1); Atkins v. City of
Chicago, 547 F.3d 869, 873 (7th Cir. 2008). The ninety-day deadline has now expired, and
nothing has been filed. Consequently, under Rule 25(a)(1), this matter must be
dismissed.
For the foregoing reasons, this case is DISMISSED with prejudice pursuant to
Rule 25(a)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Judgment will enter accordingly
and this case will be closed on the Court’s docket.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: May 12, 2015
s/ Nancy J. Rosenstengel
NANCY J. ROSENSTENGEL
United States District Judge

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