Oden et al v. True et al

Filing 129

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiffs JASON SMITH, EARNEST HALL, CRAIG ARMSTRONG, BENJAMIN WINTERS, OLLIE BROWN, SHANE ELDER, RANDALL CAUSEY, DAVID HARPER, MATTHEW SISNEROS, MARTIN VAN DEURZEN, and JOHN PELTZ are TERMINATED as plaintiffs in this actio n. Their claims are DISMISSED without prejudice pursuant to this Court's Orders at Doc. 5 and 83. This dismissal shall not count as a strike under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), but these plaintiffs are obligated to pay the filing fee for this action. See attached order for details. Signed by Chief Judge Michael J. Reagan on 9/5/2018. (tjk)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
CHRISTOPHER W. ODEN,
RANDALL PETERSON,
TIMOTHY LOGHRY, SR.,
JASON SMITH,
EARNEST HALL,
CRAIG ARMSTRONG,
BRAD MONKMAN,
BENJAMIN WINTERS,
JEFFERY BROTHERS,
OLLIE BROWN,
SHANE ELDER,
RANDALL CAUSEY,
DAVID HARPER,
DAVID HOFFARTH,
MATTHEW SISNEROS,
MARTIN VAN DEURZEN,
JAMES SAY,
CORY CUNNINGHAM,
JOHN PELTZ,
ADAM TURNER, and
MARTIN JONASSEN
Plaintiffs,
vs.
WILLIAM B. TRUE,
DONALD S. BOYCE,
JEFF SESSIONS, and
MARK INCH,
Defendants.

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Case No. 18-cv-600-MJR

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
REAGAN, Chief District Judge:
This matter is, once again, before the Court for case management. The action was
originally filed on March 23, 2018 by multiple individuals incarcerated at the United States
Penitentiary in Marion, Illinois (“Marion”). (Doc. 1). The Court entered a preliminary order in

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this matter on March 29, 2018. (Doc. 5). In it, each plaintiff, aside from the lead plaintiff
Christopher Oden, was ordered to submit to the Court a signed complaint along with a properly
completed motion to proceed in forma pauperis (“IFP”) or the filing fee for this case no later
than April 30, 2018, in order to proceed as a plaintiff in this case. Id. Twenty-one plaintiffs
were dismissed from this action on May 24, 2018 pursuant to the Court’s Order at Doc. 5. (Doc.
72). After requesting to be dismissed from this action, three more plaintiffs were dismissed on
June 15, 2018 and July 31, 2018. (Docs. 81, 106).
On June 22, 2018, multiple plaintiffs who failed to provide the necessary prisoner trust
fund account information along with their motions to proceed in forma pauperis were directed to
do so by August 6, 2018. (Doc. 83). These plaintiffs were warned in this Court’s Order at Doc.
5 that failure to submit a properly completed IFP Motion, including a certified trust fund
statement, would result in their dismissal from this action for want of prosecution and/or for
failure to comply with a court order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b). (Doc. 5, pp. 78). Plaintiffs Jason Smith, Earnest Hall, Craig Armstrong, Benjamin Winters, Ollie Brown,
Shane Elder, Randall Causey, David Harper, Matthew Sisneros, Martin Van Deurzen, and
John Peltz failed to submit a properly completed prisoner trust fund statement pursuant to this
Court’s Orders at Docs. 5 and 83 by the August 6, 2018 deadline. See (Docs. 118-128). For this
reason, these plaintiffs will be dismissed without prejudice from this action for want of
prosecution and/or for failure to comply with a court order. FED. R. CIV. P. 41(b).
Pending Motions
Plaintiffs filed a Motion to Certify Class (Doc. 14) and a Motion for Leave to Proceed
Writ of Praecipe and Motion for Appointment of Counsel (Doc. 15) in this action. These
motions will be addressed in a separate order of this Court.

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Plaintiffs’ Motions for Status (Docs. 91, 112) are DENIED as moot, as this Order
provides the status of this case.
Plaintiff’s Jonassen’s Motions to Join the Group/Pending Motions in this Case and for
Copies of Documents 14, 15, and 84 (Docs. 74, 84, 109) are GRANTED in part and DENIED in
part. To the extent Jonassen seeks to join the pending Motions at Docs. 14 and 15, his request is
GRANTED. To the extent he seeks copies of Docs. 14, 15, and 84, his request is DENIED.
The District Clerk will mail paper copies of any document to a party only upon prepayment of
the required fee. According to 28 U.S.C. § 1914(b), “[t]he clerk shall collect from the parties
such additional fees only as are prescribed by the Judicial Conference of the United States.” The
Judicial Conference Schedule of Fees section (4) provides that a fee of $.50 per page shall apply
for reproducing any record or paper.
Plaintiff Oden’s Motion for Memorandum (Doc. 82) is DENIED. In the Motion (Doc.
82), Plaintiff Oden requests that this court send a memorandum to his case manager indicating
that he has an active case with each of the plaintiffs in this action, so that he will be allowed to
communicate with them. The Court will not communicate with a non-party on Plaintiff’s behalf.
Plaintiff may consider showing his case manager this Order, where the plaintiffs are listed.
Plaintiff Jonassen has also filed a Motion for Evidentiary Hearing/Notice of Further
Allegations Linking Plaintiffs Personally to Specific Harm and Damages (Doc. 111), which is
hereby STRICKEN. In his Motion (Doc. 111), Jonassen seeks to add allegations against the
defendants, requests an evidentiary hearing, and requests the joinder of the United States as a
defendant in this action. Jonassen is the only Plaintiff to have signed the Motion, however, and
the Court warned the plaintiffs that filings on behalf of the group would be stricken because each
plaintiff must sign documents for himself. (Doc. 5, p. 5). A non-attorney cannot file or sign

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papers for another litigant. Fed. R. Civ. P. 11; Lewis v. Lenc-Smith Mfg. Co., 784 F.2d 829, 831
(7th Cir. 1986).
Disposition
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiffs JASON SMITH, EARNEST HALL,
CRAIG ARMSTRONG, BENJAMIN WINTERS, OLLIE BROWN, SHANE ELDER,
RANDALL CAUSEY, DAVID HARPER, MATTHEW SISNEROS, MARTIN VAN
DEURZEN, and JOHN PELTZ are TERMINATED as plaintiffs in this action. Their claims
are DISMISSED without prejudice pursuant to this Court’s Orders at Doc. 5 and 83. This
dismissal shall not count as a “strike” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), but these plaintiffs are
obligated to pay the filing fee for this action.
IT

IS

FURTHER

ORDERED

that

CHRISTOPHER

ODEN,

RANDALL

PETERSON, TIMOTHY LOGHRY, SR., JEFFERY BROTHERS, BRAD MONKMAN,
DAVID HOFFARTH, JAMES SAY, CORY CUNNINGHAM, ADAM TURNER, and
MARTIN JONASSEN will remain as plaintiffs in this action for the time being.
Plaintiffs are ADVISED that the Complaint is currently awaiting preliminary review by
the Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, and it has not yet been served on the defendants.
When this review is completed, a copy of the Court’s order will be forwarded to each plaintiff
who remains in the action.
The remaining plaintiffs are also ADVISED that they are under a continuing obligation
to keep the Clerk of Court and each opposing party informed of any change in their address; the
Court will not independently investigate their 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 their dismissal

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from this action for want of prosecution. See FED. R. CIV. P. 41(b).
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: September 5, 2018
s/ MICHAEL J. REAGAN
United States Chief District Judge

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