Waterman v. Board of Commissioners of Columbus, Kansas et al

Filing 114

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER denying 108 plaintiff's Motion for Default Judgment. Signed by District Judge Carlos Murguia on 05/13/2019. Mailed to pro se party Brian Michael Waterman by regular mail. (tvn)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF KANSAS

BRIAN WATERMAN,
Plaintiff,
v.
BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF
COLUMBUS, KANSAS, et al.,
Defendants.

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Case No. 18-3135-CM-KGG

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
Plaintiff Brian Waterman, a prisoner in the Sedgwick County Jail, brings this civil rights action
pro se against a number of defendants associated with Cherokee County Jail. The case is before the
court on several motions, but the court only addresses one here: plaintiff’s Motion for Default
Judgment (Doc. 108).
Plaintiff claims that defendants Jonathan Manzer, Manzer Health Clinic, and APRN Kristin
Wagner failed to answer summons. But instead of filing an answer, defendants Manzer and Manzer
Health Clinic timely filed motions to dismiss (Docs. 93–96.) Under the Fed. R. Civ. P. 12, defendants
have the option of whether to file an answer or a pre-answer motion. Default judgment is not
appropriate against defendant Manzer and Manzer Health Clinic.
As for defendant APRN Kristin Wagner, it does not appear that a waiver of service or a return
of service has been filed. Because it does not appear that this defendant has been served with process,
default judgment is also not appropriate against her.

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IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that plaintiff’s Motion for Default Judgment (Doc. 108) is
denied.
Dated this 13th day of May, 2019, at Kansas City, Kansas.

s/ Carlos Murguia_____________
CARLOS MURGUIA
United States District Judge

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