Dixon v. Illinois Department Of Corrections et al

Filing 19

ORDER: Plaintiff is GRANTED leave to file a First Amended Complaint on or before February 17, 2017, in order to address his claims arising at Pinckneyville Correctional Center. Alternatively, Plaintiff is ORDERED to file written notice with the Court by the same deadline, if he intends to proceed with the claims he set forth in his original complaint. Failure to comply with this Order shall result in dismissal of this action. (Amended Pleadings due by 2/17/2017). Signed by Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel on 1/20/2017. (tjk)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS

TONY DIXON, B-15894,
Plaintiff,
vs.
ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF
CORRECTIONS,
WEXFORD HEALTH CARE SERVICES,
TERRY WILLIAMS,
A/W NICHOLSON,
R TAJED,
DEPUTY DIRECTOR GOMEZ,
A/W COLEMAN,
DOCTOR DEVITO,
DOCTOR DIANE,
DOCTOR GAYLOR,
KHADEE AHMED,
ADREIN BRYANT,
JUAN TELLEZ,
N LAMB,
MICHAEL LENKE,
RN BRENDA,
RN SARAH,
RN VALERIE,
MS. ENGLESON, and
ASSISTANCE WARDEN CALHOUN,
Defendants.

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–1222 NJR

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
ROSENSTENGEL, District Judge:
Plaintiff Tony Dixon, an inmate in Stateville Correctional Center, brings this action for
deprivations of his constitutional rights pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Given inconsistencies
between the complaint (Doc. 1) and the record at this stage, it is unclear whether the events
giving rise to Plaintiff’s complaint occurred in the Southern District of Illinois at Pinckneyville
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Correctional Center or the Northern District of Illinois at Stateville Correctional Center. Prior to
a preliminary review of the case pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, this Court seeks to resolve this
ambiguity.
The Complaint and Record
Plaintiff originally filed a pro se complaint (Doc. 1) on April 25, 2016, with the United
States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Case No. 16-cv-4646. In that case,
Plaintiff filed an Application for Leave to Proceed In Forma Pauperis (Doc. 3) and a Motion for
Attorney Representation (Doc. 4). Both of these motions were granted May 10, 2016, and
Plaintiff was appointed counsel that day. (Doc. 5). The Northern District also granted Plaintiff’s
Motion for Extension of Time for Appointed Counsel to Complete Initial Investigation on July
22, 2016. (Doc. 10). It then granted Plaintiff leave to file an amended complaint after a status
hearing held on September 8, 2016. (Doc. 13).
The Northern District transferred Plaintiff’s case to this District citing information it
received from Plaintiff’s appointed counsel. In its transfer order dated October 20, 2016, the
Court cited Plaintiff’s counsel’s statement that “having investigated the allegations in the
complaint and the facts supporting the allegations, it appears that plaintiff’s medical claims arise
from his incarceration at IDOC Pinckneyville, which is in the Southern District of Illinois, and
that he has no current claims regarding his current incarceration at Stateville.” (Doc. 15). When
the case was transferred, Plaintiff’s appointed counsel withdrew. (Doc. 15).
Upon review of Plaintiff’s original complaint (Doc. 1), this Court does not find any
claims clearly arising from Plaintiff’s incarceration at Pinckneyville. The defendants named in
the complaint include the Illinois Department of Corrections (“IDOC”), a Deputy Director of
IDOC, employees of Stateville Correctional Center, and Wexford Health Care Services, a private

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entity. None of the defendants is employed by or located at Pinckneyville. Plaintiff similarly
does not clearly allege any violation of his constitutional rights at Pinckneyville, though he
makes allegations regarding his conditions of confinement at Stateville and regarding Stateville
employees’ indifference to his medical needs throughout his complaint. (Doc. 1, p. 7). An
amended complaint has not yet been filed in this case.
Discussion
Given the discrepancy between the facts articulated in the complaint and the indication
by Plaintiff’s appointed counsel that the only remaining claims Plaintiff has relate to his
incarceration at Pinckneyville, this Court seeks clarification of the claims Plaintiff intends to
bring before it takes further action in this case. This Court will therefore extend Plaintiff’s leave
to file an amended complaint by 28 days. On or before February 17, 2017, Plaintiff shall file a
“First Amended Complaint” that focuses on his claims arising at Pinckneyville. The instructions
and deadline for filing the amended complaint are set forth in the disposition below. If Plaintiff
instead wishes to proceed with his claims arising at Stateville, as set forth in the original
complaint, he must notify the Court of his intention to do so in writing by the same deadline.
Failure to either file an amended complaint or file written notice that he intends to proceed with
his original complaint will result in dismissal of this action for failure to comply with a court
order and/or for failure to prosecute his claims. See FED. R. CIV. P. 41(b).
Disposition
Plaintiff is GRANTED leave to file a “First Amended Complaint” on or before
February 17, 2017, in order to address his claims arising at Pinckneyville Correctional Center.
Alternatively, Plaintiff is ORDERED to file written notice with the Court by the same deadline,

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if he intends to proceed with the claims he set forth in his original complaint. Failure to comply
with this Order shall result in dismissal of this action. See FED. R. CIV. P. 41(b).
Should Plaintiff decide to file a First Amended Complaint, it is strongly recommended
that he use the forms designed for use in this District for such actions. He should label the form,
“First Amended Complaint,” and he should use the case number for this action (i.e. 16-cv-1222NJR). The pleading shall present each claim in a separate count, and each count shall specify, by
name, each defendant alleged to be liable under the count, as well as the actions alleged to have
been taken by that defendant. Plaintiff should attempt to include the facts of his case in
chronological order, inserting each defendant’s name where necessary to identify the actors.
Plaintiff should refrain from filing unnecessary exhibits. Plaintiff should include only related
claims in his new complaint. Claims found to be unrelated to one another will be severed into
new cases, new case numbers will be assigned, and additional filing fees will be assessed. To
enable Plaintiff to comply with this order, the CLERK is DIRECTED to mail Plaintiff a blank
civil rights complaint form, along with a copy of the original complaint and this Order.
An amended complaint supersedes and replaces the original complaint, rendering the
original 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 the original complaint.
Thus, the First Amended Complaint must stand on its own, without reference to any previous
pleading, and Plaintiff must re-file any exhibits he wishes the Court to consider along with the
First Amended Complaint. The First Amended Complaint is subject to review pursuant to
28 U.S.C. § 1915A.
Plaintiff is further ADVISED that his obligation to pay the filing fee for this action was
incurred at the time the action was filed, thus the filing fee of $350.00 remains due and payable,

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regardless of whether Plaintiff elects to file a First Amended Complaint. See 28 U.S.C.
§ 1915(b)(1); Lucien v. Jockisch, 133 F.3d 464, 467 (7th Cir. 1998).
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 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 20, 2017
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NANCY J. ROSENSTENGEL
United States District Judge

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