VILLANUEVA v. IDOC/ISF et al

Filing 13

Entry Dismissing Complaint and Directing Further Proceedings - In this action brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, plaintiff Juvencio Villanueva, an inmate at the Putnamville Correctional Facility, alleges that the defendants violated his ri ghts by denying him access to appropriate medical care for his broken teeth. The complaint must be dismissed. The dismissal of the complaint will not in this instance result in the dismissal of the action. Instead, the plaintiff shall have through October 15, 2013, in which to file an amended complaint. (See Entry.) Copy to plaintiff via US Mail (Bunker Hill, IN). Signed by Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson on 9/13/2013.(RSF)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
TERRE HAUTE DIVISION
JUVENCIO VILLANUEVA,
Plaintiff,
vs.
IDOC/ISF, et al.,
Defendants.

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Case No. 2:13-cv-145-JMS-MJD

Entry Dismissing Complaint and Directing Further Proceedings
In this action brought pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983, plaintiff Juvencio Villanueva, an
inmate at the Putnamville Correctional Facility, alleges that the defendants violated his rights by
denying him access to appropriate medical care for his broken teeth.
Villanueva’s complaint is subject to the screening requirement of 28 U.S.C. § 1915A.
This statute directs that the court dismiss a complaint or any claim within a complaint which “(1)
is frivolous, malicious, or fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted; or (2) seeks
monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief.” Id.
Applying the foregoing standard, the complaint must be dismissed. While the plaintiff
names a number of defendants in the caption of his complaint, he does not name any of the
defendants in the body of the complaint or explain how any of the defendants participated in the
denial of medical care he alleges. Potter v. Clark, 497 F.2d 1206, 1207 (7th Cir. 1974) (“Where a
complaint alleges no specific act or conduct on the part of the defendant and the complaint is
silent as to the defendant except for his name appearing in the caption, the complaint is properly
dismissed.”); Black v. Lane, 22 F.3d 1395, 1401 and n.8 (7th Cir. 1994) (district court properly
dismissed complaint against one defendant when the complaint alleged only that defendant was

charged with the administration of the institution and was responsible for all persons at the
institution).
The dismissal of the complaint will not in this instance result in the dismissal of the
action. Instead, the plaintiff shall have through October 15, 2013, in which to file an amended
complaint. See Luevano v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 2013 WL 3599156, *6 (7th Cir. 2013)
(“Without at least an opportunity to amend or to respond to an order to show cause, an IFP
applicant’s case could be tossed out of court without giving the applicant any timely notice or
opportunity to be heard to clarify, contest, or simply request leave to amend.”). In submitting an
amended complaint, he 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.

If an amended complaint is filed as directed, the Court will screen it as required by 28
U.S.C. ' 1915A. If no amended complaint is filed, the action will be dismissed in its entirety
without further notice to the plaintiff.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

09/13/2013
Date: ___________________

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

Distribution:
Juvencio Villanueva
218238
Miami Correctional Facility
3038 West 850 South
Bunker Hill, IN 46914-9810