Holleman v. Redmen et al
Filing
8
OPINION AND ORDER: The court GRANTS Rickey A. Holleman until 6/12/2024, to file an amended complaint; and CAUTIONS Rickey A. Holleman if he does not respond by the deadline, this case will be dismissed under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A without further notice because the current complaint does not state a claim for which relief can be granted. Signed by Judge Philip P Simon on 5/8/24. (Copy mailed to pro se party). (nhc)
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
SOUTH BEND DIVISION
RICKEY A. HOLLEMAN,
Plaintiff,
v.
CAUSE NO. 3:23-CV-800-PPS-JEM
WILLIAM REDMEN, OLMSTEAD,
MEDICAL STAFF,
Defendants.
OPINION AND ORDER
Rickey A. Holleman, a prisoner without a lawyer, filed a complaint alleging he
did not receive constitutionally adequate medical treatment while he was at the Saint
Joseph County Jail. [ECF 1.] “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, under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, I must
review the merits of a prisoner complaint and dismiss it if the action is frivolous or
malicious, fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or seeks monetary
relief against a defendant who is immune from such relief.
Holleman alleges his left hand had a knife wound when he entered the jail on
December 2, 2021. He says he told an unidentified nurse and guard that he needed to go
to the hospital for surgery and stitches. He says that did not happen. He says his
bandages should have been changed daily but were only changed every few days. He
says the Warden responded to his grievance complaining about medical care by merely
saying thank you for bringing this to our attention. Holleman sues Warden Olmstead,
but the
view that everyone who knows about a prisoner’s problem must pay
damages implies that [a prisoner] could write letters to the Governor of
Wisconsin and 999 other public officials, demand that every one of those
1,000 officials drop everything he or she is doing in order to investigate a
single prisoner’s claims, and then collect damages from all 1,000 recipients
if the letter-writing campaign does not lead to better medical care. That
can’t be right.
Burks v. Raemisch, 555 F.3d 592, 595 (7th Cir. 2009). “[P]ublic employees are responsible
for their own misdeeds but not for anyone else’s.” Burks v. Raemisch, 555 F.3d 592, 96
(7th Cir. 2009). “Only persons who cause or participate in the violations are
responsible.” George v. Smith, 507 F.3d 605, 609 (7th Cir. 2007). The complaint does not
state a claim against Warden Olmstead.
Holleman also sues Sheriff William Redmen, but the complaint makes no
mention of him having any involvement with his medical treatment. The complaint
does not state a claim against Sheriff Redmen.
Finally, the complaint sues “Saint Joseph County Jail Medical Staff.” This is the
equivalent of naming “John Doe” as a defendant. “[I]t is pointless to include lists of
anonymous defendants in federal court; this type of placeholder does not open the door
to relation back under Fed. R. Civ. P. 15 . . . nor can it otherwise help the
plaintiff.” Wudtke v. Davel, 128 F.3d 1057, 1060 (7th Cir. 1997). Moreover, even if the
complaint had named the nurse with whom he spoke when he first entered the jail, the
2
complaint does not contain sufficient facts to plausibly allege that nurse violated his
constitutional rights.
To state a claim for inadequate medical care, a complaint must
allege that: (1) there was an objectively serious medical need; (2) the
defendant committed a volitional act concerning the [detainee]’s medical
need; (3) that act was objectively unreasonable under the circumstances in
terms of responding to the [detainee]’s medical need; and (4) the
defendant acts purposefully, knowingly, or perhaps even recklessly with
respect to the risk of harm.
Gonzalez v. McHenry Cty., 40 F.4th 824, 827-28 (7th Cir. 2022). Holleman plausibly alleges
he had an objectively serious medical need, but he does not say what the nurse did in
response – merely saying that he was not ultimately sent to the hospital does not
explain why the nurse acted in an objectively unreasonable way.
This complaint does not state a claim for which relief can be granted. If Holleman
believes he can state a claim based on (and consistent with) the events described in this
complaint, he may file an amended complaint because “[t]he usual standard in civil
cases is to allow defective pleadings to be corrected, especially in early stages, at least
where amendment would not be futile.” Abu-Shawish v. United States, 898 F.3d 726, 738
(7th Cir. 2018). To file an amended complaint, he needs to write this cause number on a
Pro Se 14 (INND Rev. 2/20) Prisoner Complaint form which is available from his law
library. He needs to write the word “Amended” on the first page above the title
“Prisoner Complaint” and send it to the court after he properly completes the form.
For these reasons, the court:
(1) GRANTS Rickey A. Holleman until June 12, 2024, to file an amended
complaint; and
3
(2) CAUTIONS Rickey A. Holleman if he does not respond by the deadline, this
case will be dismissed under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A without further notice because the
current complaint does not state a claim for which relief can be granted.
SO ORDERED on May 8, 2024
s/ Philip P. Simon
JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
4
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
Why Is My Information Online?