Widmer v. Kempfer

Filing 7

ORDER REFERRING CASE to Magistrate Judge Donald G. Wilkerson. Signed by Judge Michael J. Reagan on 1/24/2014. (tjk)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
MICHAEL WIDMER, # B-30985,
Plaintiff,
vs.
J. KEMPFER,
Defendant.

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Case No. 13-cv-1246-MJR

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
REAGAN, District Judge:
This matter comes before the Court for case management.

This action was

opened on December 3, 2013, after Plaintiff’s claim herein was severed from Widmer v.
Unknown Party Mailroom Defendants, et al., Case No. 13-cv-787-MJR-SCW (which itself had
been severed from Widmer v. Page, et al., Case No. 13-cv-663-MJR-SCW on Aug. 1, 2013).
Plaintiff was ordered to notify the Court no later than January 6, 2014, if he did not wish to
proceed with this severed retaliation claim (designated as Count 4 in the threshold order at Doc.
1) against Defendant Kempfer, in order to avoid incurring another filing fee.
That deadline has now passed, and Plaintiff has not notified the Court of any
intent to dismiss the instant action. His motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis has been
granted (Doc. 6). Accordingly, service shall be ordered on the Defendant in this case, and the
matter shall be referred to a United States Magistrate Judge for further consideration.
Disposition
The Clerk of Court shall prepare for Defendant KEMPFER: (1) Form 5 (Notice
of a Lawsuit and Request to Waive Service of a Summons), and (2) Form 6 (Waiver of Service

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of Summons). The Clerk is DIRECTED to mail these forms, a copy of the complaint, a copy of
the Memorandum and Order at Doc. 1, and this Memorandum and 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 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.
If the Defendant cannot be found at the address provided by Plaintiff, the
employer shall furnish the Clerk with the Defendant’s current work address, or, if not known, the
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 file, nor
disclosed by the Clerk.
Plaintiff shall serve upon Defendant (or upon defense counsel once an appearance
is entered), a copy of every further 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 any 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.
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).
Pursuant to Local Rule 72.1(a)(2), this action is REFERRED to a United States
Magistrate Judge for further pre-trial proceedings.

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Further, this entire matter is hereby REFERRED to the United States Magistrate
Judge 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.
If judgment is rendered against Plaintiff, and the judgment includes the payment
of costs under § 1915, Plaintiff will be required to pay the full amount of the costs,
notwithstanding that his application to proceed in forma pauperis has been granted. See 28
U.S.C. § 1915(f)(2)(A).
Plaintiff is ADVISED that at the time application was made under 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915 for leave to commence this civil action without being required to prepay fees and costs or
give security for the same, the applicant and his or her attorney were deemed to have entered into
a stipulation that the recovery, if any, secured in the action shall be paid to the Clerk of the
Court, who shall pay therefrom all unpaid costs taxed against plaintiff and remit the balance to
plaintiff. Local Rule 3.1(c)(1).
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 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: January 24, 2014

s/ MICHAEL J. REAGAN
United States District Judge

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