Benson v. Allen County Jail et al

Filing 18

OPINION AND ORDER STRIKING 13 Amended Complaint filed by Charles A Benson. Clerk DIRECTED to place this cause number on a blank Prisoner Complaint and send it to Pla who is granted until 8/14/2017 to file an amended complaint containing related claims on that form. Pla is CAUTIONED that if he does not respond by that ddl, this case will be dismissed w/o further notice. Signed by Judge William C Lee on 7/17/2017. (Copy mailed to pro se party with prisoner complaint form)(lns)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
FORT WAYNE DIVISION
CHARLES A. BENSON,
Plaintiff,
v.
ALLEN COUNTY JAIL, et. al.,
Defendants.

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CAUSE NO. 1:16-CV-362 WL

OPINION AND ORDER
Charles A. Benson, a pro se prisoner, filed an amended complaint containing two groups of
unrelated claims. In short, they can be described as a conditions of confinement claims and excessive
force claims. It was originally alleged that all these claims were committed by the same defendants.
ECF 1 at 3. Benson now alleges Sgt. Knox is the one who subjected him to unconstitutional
conditions of confinement on May 8, 2016, and Lt. Purden, Jail Commander Charles Hart, Ofc.
Myers and Ofc. Warsey used excessive force against him on May 13, 2016. ECF 13 at 3-4.
Though it is possible to join more than one claim and more than one defendant in a single
lawsuit, “[u]nrelated claims against different defendants belong in different suits . . ..” George v.
Smith, 507 F.3d 605, 607 (7th Cir. 2007). Here, it appears that the only thing that connects these
claims is that each occurred at the Allen County Jail. But the claims are not dependant upon, or
related to, the other. They involve different defendants, different incidents that took place on
separate dates, and involve different sets of operative facts. Thus, these claims do not belong in the
same lawsuit. Therefore, this complaint will be stricken and Benson will be permitted to file a single
amended complaint under this cause number asserting only related claims. If he wants to bring the

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other, unrelated claims, he needs to file a new lawsuit.
Regardless of which claim he decides to pursue in this case, he must explain in his own
words what happened, where it happened, when it happened, and who was involved – providing as
much detail as possible. He must also explain how each named defendant was personally involved
in the violation of his rights.
For these reasons, the amended complaint (ECF 13) is STRICKEN. The clerk is
DIRECTED to place this cause number on a blank Prisoner Complaint (INND Rev. 8/16) and send
it to Charles A. Benson who is granted until August 14, 2017, to file an amended complaint
containing related claims on that form. He is CAUTIONED that if he does not respond by that
deadline, this case will be dismissed without further notice.
SO ORDERED.
ENTERED: July 17, 2017
s/William C. Lee
William C. Lee, Judge
United States District Court

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