Jenkins v. Trot et al

Filing 9

IT IS ORDERED that, in order to proceed with this case, Plaintiff shall file his Second Amended Complaint within 35 days of the entry of this order. (Amended Pleadings due by 5/12/2015). Signed by Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel on 4/7/2015. (tjk)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
DARREL JENKINS, # N-42714,
Plaintiff,
vs.
DR TROT
and CHARLOTTE MIGET,
Defendants.

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Case No. 15-cv-253-NJR

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
ROSENSTENGEL, District Judge:
Plaintiff, an inmate at Menard Correctional Center (“Menard”), filed this pro se civil
rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 on March 6, 2015. On March 11, 2015, the Court
struck the original complaint from the record because Plaintiff failed to sign it in accordance
with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 (Doc. 5).

Plaintiff was ordered to resubmit his

complaint, properly signed, no later than April 1, 2015. The Clerk furnished him with a copy of
the original complaint and exhibits, which totaled 32 pages.
On March 17, 2015, Plaintiff resubmitted an incomplete version of his complaint, along
with two motions. 1 This pleading was docketed as an amended complaint on March 23, 2015, as
Doc. 6. This amended complaint does contain a completed signature page (Doc. 6, p. 10),
however, it is missing the caption/cover page, list of parties, and statement of claim. 2 This
document, as filed, is insufficient to establish the Court’s jurisdiction over any claims or parties.

1

Plaintiff resubmitted his previously-filed motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”) (now
filed as both Doc. 2 and Doc. 8), and motion for the recruitment of counsel (Doc. 3 and Doc. 7).
2
In the now-stricken original complaint, pages 1-6 contained the caption, parties, and part of the
statement of claim, and additional jurisdictional information was included on pages 11-15. None of these
pages was included in the amended complaint.

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The Court cannot determine which Defendants Plaintiff intends to sue, as no Defendant is named
anywhere in the complaint. The disjointed nature of the document makes it impossible to discern
any coherent factual allegations or description of the events giving rise to Plaintiff’s claim.
Although Plaintiff mentions some injuries that he attributes to the medication he was prescribed,
he does not identify any health care provider or other person who might have been responsible
for the problems he experienced. The complaint thus fails to state a claim upon which relief may
be granted, and it is subject to dismissal pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A.
The Court is cognizant of the recent disruptions in the usual procedure for prisoners to
submit documents electronically from Menard. While it is not clear whether this problem has
contributed to Plaintiff’s inability to file a coherent complaint, out of an abundance of caution,
the Court shall allow him one more opportunity to submit a complete, signed complaint.
Plaintiff is ADVISED that when he submits his pleading, he must “start from scratch”
and submit the entire document all together for filing. Merely sending in selected pages that
were missing from the amended complaint will not suffice.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that, in order to proceed with this case, Plaintiff shall
file his Second Amended Complaint within 35 days of the entry of this order (on or before May
12, 2015). Plaintiff may resubmit the complaint he originally filed, properly signed, or he may
revise his pleading. He is encouraged to use the form designed for use in this District for civil
rights actions. He should label the pleading “Second Amended Complaint” and include Case
Number 15-cv-253-NJR. For each claim, Plaintiff shall specify, by name, 3 each Defendant
alleged to be liable for the alleged violations, as well as the actions alleged to have been taken by
that Defendant. New individual Defendants may be added if they were personally involved in

3

Plaintiff may designate an unknown Defendant as John or Jane Doe, but he should include descriptive
information (such as job title, shift worked, or location) to assist in the person’s eventual identification.

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the constitutional violations.

Plaintiff should attempt to include the facts of his case in

chronological order, inserting Defendants’ names where necessary to identify the actors and the
dates of any material acts or omissions. It is not necessary to provide a memorandum of law, cite
to legal authority, or include voluminous exhibits. Instead, Plaintiff should focus on the facts
and events which gave rise to his claims that the Defendant(s) violated his civil rights.
An amended complaint supersedes and replaces the previously-filed complaint, making
the earlier complaint void. See Flannery v. Recording Indus. Ass’n of Am., 354 F.3d 632, 638
n.1 (7th Cir. 2004). The Court will not accept piecemeal amendments to a complaint. Thus, the
Second Amended Complaint must stand on its own, without reference to any other pleading. If
the Second Amended Complaint does not conform to these requirements, it shall be stricken.
Plaintiff must also re-file any exhibits he wishes the Court to consider along with the Second
Amended Complaint.
If Plaintiff fails to timely submit an amended complaint in compliance with this order,
this action shall be dismissed with prejudice. See FED. R. CIV. P. 41(b). Because the current
operative complaint (Doc. 6) fails to state a claim, such a dismissal shall count as one of
Plaintiff’s three allotted “strikes” within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).
No service shall be ordered on any Defendant until after the Court completes its § 1915A
review of the Second Amended Complaint.
In order to assist Plaintiff in preparing his amended complaint, the Clerk is DIRECTED
to mail Plaintiff a blank civil rights complaint form.
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 7

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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: April 7, 2015

______________________________
NANCY J. ROSENSTENGEL
United States District Judge

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