Smith v. Groves et al

Filing 46

ORDER DENYING 39 Motion for Sanctions; DENYING 40 Motion. Signed by Magistrate Judge Donald G. Wilkerson on 3/23/17. (sgp)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
NAZEER SMITH,
Plaintiff,
v.
C/O GROVES and C/O BOWERMAN,
Defendants.

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Case No. 3:15-cv-1138-NJR-DGW

ORDER
WILKERSON, Magistrate Judge:
Now pending before the Court are the Motion for Sanctions and the Motion to be
Re-Deposed filed by Plaintiff on March 1, 2017 (Docs. 39 and 40). Both motions are DENIED.
In these two motions, which are practically identical, Plaintiff states that “he was never
issued a notice of deposition” and that “he was not allowed ample time to organize and prepare for
said video conference deposition.” These statements are inconsistent with the evidence and
appear to be patently false. Defendants served Plaintiff with notice of his January 30, 2017
deposition on January 4, 2016 (Doc. 44-1). During his deposition, Plaintiff brought with him
papers related to this case and “notes that will help” him during the deposition (Doc. 44-2. pp. 3-4).
Plaintiff therefore was able to prepare for the deposition, something that he could not have done
had he not received notice.

Plaintiff tacitly acknowledged that he received notice of the

deposition when he indicated that he did not review documents after receiving notice of the
deposition (Id. 5). From the few pages of deposition transcript that have been provided by
Defendants, there does not appear to have been anything untoward or irregular about either the
notice given to Plaintiff or the conduct of the deposition.
Plaintiff is reminded that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11 requires his representations to
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the Court to have some evidentiary support. The Rule also requires that by filing his motions he is
certifying that they are not made with the purpose of harassing or causing unnecessary delay or
expense. While Plaintiff is proceeding pro se, he is not excused from following the Rules. To
the extent that Plaintiff presents any other papers to the Court that do not comply with Rule 11 or
are otherwise lacking in support, he is WARNED that he could be sanctioned with, among other
things, dismissal of this suit.
DATED: March 23, 2017

DONALD G. WILKERSON
United States Magistrate Judge

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