Hamrick v. Baird

Filing 21

ORDER DENYING 13 Motion to Certify Class. Signed by Magistrate Judge Donald G. Wilkerson on 1/11/2017. (nms)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
RODNEY C. HAMRICK,
Plaintiff,
v.
MAUREEN P. BAIRD,
Defendant.

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Case No. 3:16-cv-967-NJR-DGW

ORDER
WILKERSON, Magistrate Judge:
Now pending before the Court is the Motion for Certification of Class filed by Plaintiff,
Rodney C. Hamrick (Doc. 13). For the reasons set forth below, the Motion is DENIED.
In his motion, Plaintiff asks the Court to certify as a class “all Muslim Prisoners
incarcerated at the CMU in Marion, Illinois, and to consolidate all pending civil complaints filed
by Muslim prisoners who were formerly, or are presently incarcerated at CMU Marion, citing to
one other case pending in this District, Chesser v. Walton, et al., Case No.
3:12-cv-1198-JPG-PMF.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a) prescribes that one or more members of a class may
sue as representative parties on behalf of all members only if: (1) the class is so numerous that
joinder of all members is impracticable; (2) there are questions of law or fact common to the class;
(3) the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the
class; and (4) the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class.
In this instance, Plaintiff’s motion makes only bare assertions that his proposed class and the
claims in this matter meet the requirements of Rule 23. Plaintiff’s motion is devoid of any
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evidence that his claims are typical of the claims of the class or that he would fairly and adequately
protect the interests of the class. Moreover, Plaintiff has failed to sufficiently demonstrate that
the class is so numerous that joinder is impracticable as Plaintiff indicates there are only fifteen
Muslim prisoners at CMU Marion (and it is not clear that these other Muslim inmates prescribe to
the same beliefs as Plaintiff). As Plaintiff has failed to meet the requirements of Rule 23(a), his
Motion for Certification of Class (Doc. 13) is DENIED.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: January 11, 2017

DONALD G. WILKERSON
United States Magistrate Judge

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