Griffin v. Baldwin et al

Filing 16

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff's Complaint (Doc. 1) is DISMISSED without prejudice for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that BALDWIN, CAMPANELLA, and COX are DISMISSED without prejudice for fai lure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, should he wish to proceed with this case, Plaintiff shall file a First Amended Complaint, stating any facts which may exist to support his claims, within 28 days of th e entry of this order. Should Plaintiff fail to file his First Amended Complaint within the allotted time or consistent with the instructions set forth in this Order, the entire case shall be dismissed with prejudice for failure to comply with a court order and/or for failure to prosecute his claims. (Amended Pleadings due by 6/13/2018). Signed by Judge Staci M. Yandle on 5/16/2018. (tjk)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
EDDIE GRIFFIN, #N83899,
Plaintiff,
vs.
JOHN BALDWIN,
JEANNE CAMPANELLA, and
MAJOR COX,
Defendants.

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Case No. 18−cv–729−SMY

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
YANDLE, District Judge:
Plaintiff Eddie Griffin, a former inmate of Vienna Correctional Center (“Vienna”), brings
this action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for alleged deprivations of his constitutional rights.
Specifically, Plaintiff claims he was raped repeatedly while he was incarcerated at Vienna.
(Doc. 1). This case is now before the Court for a preliminary review of the Complaint pursuant
to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2), which provides:
Notwithstanding any filing fee, or any portion thereof, that may have been paid,
the court shall dismiss the case at any time if the court determines that –
(A) the allegation of poverty is untrue; or
(B) the action or appeal –
(i) is frivolous or malicious;
(ii) fails to state a claim on which relief may be granted; or
(iii) seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from
such relief.
An action or claim is frivolous if “it lacks an arguable basis either in law or in fact.”
Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 325 (1989). Frivolousness is an objective standard that refers
to a claim that any reasonable person would find meritless. Lee v. Clinton, 209 F.3d 1025, 102627 (7th Cir. 2000). An action fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted if it does not
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plead “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v.
Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). The claim of entitlement to relief must cross “the line
between possibility and plausibility.” Id. at 557. At this juncture, the factual allegations of the
pro se complaint are to be liberally construed. See Rodriguez v. Plymouth Ambulance Serv., 577
F.3d 816, 821 (7th Cir. 2009).
Upon careful review of the Complaint and any supporting exhibits, the Court finds that
the Complaint does not survive threshold review.
The Complaint
Plaintiff makes the following allegation in the Complaint (Doc. 1): every day at Vienna,
up to four times per day, when Plaintiff went to sleep, “they would let [FBI Agent Rochelle
Fleming] come in [where Plaintiff] was sleeping and rape [him] at will.” (Doc. 1, p. 4). Plaintiff
demands monetary damages from the defendants.
Discussion
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8, plaintiffs are required to associate specific
defendants with specific claims, so that defendants are put on notice of the claims brought
against them and so they can properly answer the Complaint.

See Bell Atlantic Corp. v.

Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007); FED. R. CIV. P. 8(a)(2). Merely invoking the name of a
potential defendant is not sufficient to state a claim against that individual. See Collins v. Kibort,
143 F.3d 331, 334 (7th Cir. 1998). Moreover, vague references to a group or list of defendants,
without specific allegations tying the individual defendants to the alleged unconstitutional
conduct, do not raise a genuine issue of material fact with respect to those defendants. See Alejo
v. Heller, 328 F.3d 930, 936 (7th Cir. 2003) (finding dismissal of named defendant proper where
plaintiff failed to allege defendant's personal involvement in the alleged wrongdoings);

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Starzenski v. City of Elkhart, 87 F.3d 872, 879 (7th Cir. 1996).
Plaintiff’s Complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted; none of the
named defendants are included in the statement of claim at all, much less associated with
unconstitutional actions. The only individual included referred to in the statement of claim is
FBI Agent Rochelle Fleming. However, she is not named as a defendant in the case and will
therefore not be considered as such. See Myles v. United States, 416 F.3d 551, 551–52 (7th Cir.
2005) (defendants must be “specif[ied] in the caption”).
For the above-stated reasons, the Complaint does not survive preliminary review, and
will therefore be dismissed without prejudice. Plaintiff will be granted leave to file an amended
complaint, however, according to the instructions and deadlines set forth in the disposition.
Pending Motions
Plaintiff has filed three Motions for Recruitment of Counsel (Docs. 5, 10, and 14). The
motion at Doc. 14 is hereby STRICKEN as unsigned pursuant to Rule 11(a) of the Federal
Rules of Civil Procedure. As to the motions at Docs. 5 and 10, there is no constitutional or
statutory right to appointment of counsel in federal civil cases. Romanelli v. Suliene, 615 F.3d
847, 851 (7th Cir. 2010). Federal District Courts have discretion under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(1) to
request counsel to assist pro se litigants. Id. When presented with a request to appoint counsel,
the Court must consider: “(1) has the indigent plaintiff made a reasonable attempt to obtain
counsel or been effectively precluded from doing so; and if so, (2) given the difficulty of the
case, does the plaintiff appear competent to litigate it himself [.]” Pruitt v. Mote, 503 F.3d 647,
654 (7th Cir. 2007).
With regard to the first step of the inquiry, Plaintiff left blanks in the sections of his
motions inquiring into the attorneys/organizations he has contacted seeking representation. (Doc.

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5, p. 1); (Doc. 10, p. 1). Plaintiff has therefore not shown that he made a reasonable attempt to
find counsel. For this reason, Plaintiff’s motions for appointment of counsel (Docs. 5, 10) are
DENIED without prejudice.
Disposition
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Complaint (Doc. 1) is DISMISSED
without prejudice for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that BALDWIN, CAMPANELLA, and COX are
DISMISSED without prejudice for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, should he wish to proceed with this case, Plaintiff
shall file a First Amended Complaint, stating any facts which may exist to support his claims,
within 28 days of the entry of this order (on or before June 13, 2018). Should Plaintiff fail to file
his First Amended Complaint within the allotted time or consistent with the instructions set forth
in this Order, the entire case shall be dismissed with prejudice for failure to comply with a court
order and/or for failure to prosecute his claims. FED. R. APP. P. 41(b). See generally Ladien
v. Astrachan, 128 F.3d 1051 (7th Cir. 1997); Johnson v. Kamminga, 34 F.3d 466 (7th Cir. 1994);
28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2). Such dismissal shall not count as one of Plaintiff’s three allotted
“strikes” within the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g) because Plaintiff was not a prisoner at the
time he filed this lawsuit.
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. 18-cv-729SMY). 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

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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.
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 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. §
1915(e)(2). No service shall be ordered on any defendant until after the Court completes its §
1915(e)(2) review of the First Amended Complaint.
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).
In order to assist Plaintiff in preparing his amended complaint, the Clerk is DIRECTED
to mail Plaintiff a blank civil rights complaint form.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: May 16, 2018

s/ STACI M. YANDLE
United States District Judge
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