Mayweather-Brown v. Rodgers et al

Filing 3

OPINION AND ORDER: Plaintiff Quintin Mayweather-Brown GRANTED until 12/27/2016 to file an Amended Complaint. Plaintiff CAUTIONED if he does not respond by the deadline this case will be dismissed. Signed by Judge Joseph S Van Bokkelen on 11/23/16. (cc: Quintin Mayweather-Brown). (cer)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
SOUTH BEND DIVISION
Quintin Mayweather-Brown,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 3:16-CV-755 JVB

Brad Rodgers, et al.,
Defendants.
OPINION AND ORDER
Quintin Mayweather-Brown, a pro se prisoner, filed a vague complaint against twelve
defendants based on events which occurred while he was a pretrial detainee in Elkhart County in
2014. “A document filed pro se is to be liberally construed, and a pro se complaint, however
inartfully pleaded, must be held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by
lawyers.” Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94 (2007) (quotation marks and citations omitted).
Nevertheless, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, the court must review the merits of a prisoner
complaint.
Here, the complaint is vague because it is unclear when each alleged event occurred. This
matters because Indiana’s two-year limitations period applies to this case. See Behavioral Inst. of
Ind., LLC v. Hobart City of Common Council, 406 F.3d 926, 929 (7th Cir. 2005). The clerk
received the complaint on November 7, 2016. However, Mayweather-Brown is entitled to the
mailbox rule because he is incarcerated. Edwards v. United States, 266 F.3d 756, 758 (7th Cir.
2001). Here, the complaint is dated October 16, 2016, but it is unclear when he mailed it.
Nevertheless, if he mailed it on that day, only claims arising on or after October 16, 2014, would
be timely in this case. Mayweather-Brown needs to clarify when he mailed the original complaint
in this case and limit his claims to those which arose in the preceding two years.

The complaint is also vague because it appears to be raising claims which are also being
raised in 3:16-CV-444 and 3:16-CV-755. Therefore Mayweather-Brown needs to separate his
claims so that each case contains a discrete group of claims. Then he needs to clearly explain what
each defendant did which he believes violated his rights.
For these reasons, the court GRANTS Quintin Mayweather-Brown until December 27,
2016, to file an amended complaint; and CAUTIONS him that if he does not respond by that
deadline, this case will be dismissed without further notice for failure to prosecute.
SO ORDERED on November 23, 2016.

s/ Joseph S. Van Bokkelen
JOSEPH S. VAN BOKKELEN
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

2