NEAL v. COLEMAN et al

Filing 3

ENTRY and Notice; complaint is dismissed; but the dismissal of the complaint will not dismiss the action. Plaintiff shall have through 4/1/12 to file an amended complaint. Proceedings other than those specified herein are STAYED. (Plaintiff served via US Mail) Signed by Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson on 3/6/2012.(SMD)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA

ROBERT DAVID NEAL,
vs.

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Plaintiff,

F. TIMOTHY COLEMAN, et al.,
Defendants.

No. 2:12-cv-40-JMS-DKL

Entry and Notice
I.
Rule 2 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure makes clear that there is only
one form of action—a civil action. Rule 3 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure
prescribes that a civil action is commenced through the filing of a complaint. A
lawsuit is a serious matter—an activity “in which serious people attend to serious
business,” Morris v. Jenkins, 819 F.2d 678, 682 (7th Cir. 1987)--and a complaint is a
vital part of a lawsuit. Pursuant to Under Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2), a complaint must
contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is
entitled to relief.”
The complaint in this action violates Rule 8(a)(2) and is therefore dismissed.
Davis v. Ruby Foods, Inc., 269 F.3d 818, 820 (7th Cir. 2001)("dismissal of a
complaint on the ground that it is unintelligible is unexceptionable").
II.
A.
The dismissal of the complaint will not in this instance result in the dismissal
of the action. Benjamin v. United States, 833 F.2d 669, 671 (7th Cir. 1987). Instead,
the plaintiff shall have through April 1, 2012, in which to file an amended
complaint. If an amended complaint is filed, it shall conform to the following
guidelines:

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The amended complaint shall comply with the requirement of Rule
8(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that pleadings contain "a short and
plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief. . . ";
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The amended complaint shall comply with the requirement of Rule 10
that the allegations in a complaint be made in numbered paragraphs, each of which
should recite, as far as practicable, only a single set of circumstances; and
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The amended complaint must identify what legal injury he claims to
have suffered and what persons are responsible for each such legal injury.
B.
If an amended complaint is filed as permitted in Part II.A. of this Entry, that
pleading will be examined and an appropriate order will issue following the
completion of that step. Any claim which lacks plausibility will be dismissed.
Hoskins v. Poelstra, 320 F.3d 761, 762 (7th Cir. 2003)(ADistrict judges have ample
authority to dismiss frivolous or transparently defective suits spontaneously, and
thus save everyone time and legal expense.@)(citing Rowe v. Shake, 196 F.3d 778,
783 (7th Cir. 1999)). In conjunction with this standard, the plaintiff is notified that
"[a] claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that
allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the
misconduct alleged." Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. 1937, 1948 (2009).
III.
Proceedings other than those specified in Part II.B. of this Entry are stayed.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

03/06/2012
Date: _________________________
Distribution:
Robert David Neal
No. 15151-180
Inmate Mail/Parcels
P.O. Box 33
Terre Haute, IN 47808

_______________________________
Hon. Jane Magnus-Stinson, Judge
United States District Court
Southern District of Indiana