Labreck v. Stephenson et al

Filing 20

ORDER DENYING without prejudice Plaintiff's 7 Motion to Appoint Counsel and Directing Plaintiff to further identify Defendant.--Signed by Magistrate Judge Paul J. Komives. (MWil)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION
PETER JOSHUA LABRECK (#799461),
Plaintiff,
CASE NO. 2:14-CV-12025
JUDGE LAURIE J. MICHELSON
MAGISTRATE JUDGE PAUL J. KOMIVES
v.
SHERIFF STEPHENSON,
CAPTAIN HARNOIS and
JANE DOE JAIL NURSE,
Defendants.
/
ORDER DENYING WITHOUT PREJUDICE PLAINTIFF’S JUNE 12, 2014 MOTION
TO APPOINT COUNSEL (Doc. Ent. 7) and DIRECTING PLAINTIFF TO FURTHER
IDENTIFY DEFENDANT JANE DOE JAIL NURSE
A.

Background
Peter Joshua LaBreck (#799461) is currently incarcerated at the MDOC’s Macomb

Correctional Facility (MRF) in New Haven, Michigan, where he is serving a sentenced imposed
in Case No. 08-221460-FC (Oakland County). See www.michigan.gov/corrections, “Offender
Search.”
LaBreck is or has been a party to several other cases in this Court.1 By way of
background, it appears that LaBreck was incarcerated at the Midland County Jail from March 11,

1

See LaBreck v. Esposito, et al., Case No. 5:11-cv-11328-JCO-PJK (E.D. Mich.)
(dismissed on October 31, 2013); LaBreck v. U.S. Department of Treasury, et al., Case No.
2:11-cv-10155-DML-MJH (E.D. Mich.) (dismissed with prejudice on February 12, 2013);
LaBreck v. Michigan Department of Treasury, et al., Case No. 2:13-cv-15275-LPZ-PJK (E.D.
Mich.) (dismissed without prejudice on February 21, 2014); LaBreck v. Michigan Department of
Corrections, et al., Case No. 1:14-cv-10298-TLL-CEB (E.D. Mich.) (dismissed without
prejudice on February 20, 2014); and LaBreck v. Aarons Rentals, et al., Case No. 2:14-cv10247-LJM-PJK (E.D. Mich.).

2014 until he was transferred on June 3, 2014 to another facility. See Doc. Ent. 19 at 8. In the
instant case, filed pro se on May 20, 2014, he names as defendants Stephenson (Midland County
Sheriff), Harnois (Midland County Jail Captain)2 and Jane Doe (presumably a Midland County
Jail Nurse). Doc. Ent. 1; see also Doc. Ent. 4 (Preamble).3
B.

Service upon Defendants
The Court has granted plaintiff’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis (Doc. Ent. 2) and

granted plaintiff’s motion for court-ordered service of the summons and complaint (Doc. Ent. 3).
Doc. Ent. 12. On July 30, 2014, the U.S. Marshal acknowledged receipt of documents for
service of process upon Stephenson and Harnois. Doc. Ent. 13.
On August 27, 2014, defendants Harnois and Stephenson’s waivers were executed (Doc.
Ent. 18); they filed an answer, affirmative defenses and demand for jury trial (Doc. Ent. 17); and
appearances were entered on their behalf (Doc. Ent. 15-16). On September 15, 2014, defendants
Stephenson and Harnois filed a motion to dismiss. Doc. Ent. 19.
To date, defendant Nurse Jane Doe has not appeared.
C.

Pending Motion
Judge Michelson has referred this case to me for pretrial matters. Doc. Ent. 14.

Currently before the Court is plaintiff’s June 12, 2014 motion to be appointed counsel (Doc. Ent.
7), which he appears to have filed while still incarcerated at the Midland County Jail. See Doc.
Ent. 7 at 3.
Upon consideration, plaintiff’s June 12, 2014 motion to be appointed counsel (Doc. Ent.

2

See http://co.midland.mi.us/Sheriff/DivisionsandServices/Divisions/Administration.aspx
(visited Sept. 15, 2014).
3

For whatever reason, the Civil Cover Sheet for this case lists LaBreck’s address as MRF.
Doc. Ent. 1 at 2.

7) is denied. To be sure, plaintiff does mention seeking assistance with making this case a class
action. However, his motion to appoint counsel is primarily based upon his ability, or lack
thereof, to prepare or present his case while at the Midland County Jail - a location at which
plaintiff is no longer residing.
D.

Plaintiff’s Address/Contact Information
By the time of his July 3, 2014 filing (Doc. Ent. 9), plaintiff was incarcerated at the

MDOC’s Muskegon Correctional Facility (MCF) in Muskegon County. At the time of his latest
July 22, 2014 filing, plaintiff was still incarcerated at MCF. Doc. Ent. 11. Although MCF is
plaintiff’s address of record, as noted above, LaBreck is currently incarcerated at the MDOC’s
Macomb Correctional Facility (MRF) in Macomb County.
Thus, LaBreck is reminded of his responsibility to keep the Court apprised of his current
address/contact information and shall be required to file a change of address/contact information
with this Court.
E.

Order
Upon consideration, no later than October 7, 2014, plaintiff LaBreck SHALL provide this

Court with further means to identify defendant Jane Doe Jail Nurse, such as a first and/or last
name, a copy of a medical record bearing her name, etc. Otherwise, the undersigned will
recommend dismissal of plaintiff’s claims against this defendant.
Also, plaintiff’s June 12, 2014 motion to appoint counsel (Doc. Ent. 7) is DENIED
WITHOUT PREJUDICE to renewal if this case survives dispositive motion practice or if other
circumstances warranting the appointment of counsel arise.
Furthermore, plaintiff SHALL, within ten (10) days of the date of this order, file a notice

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of change of address/contact information.
Finally, the Clerk of the Court SHALL serve a copy of this order upon plaintiff at both
the Muskegon Correctional Facility (MCF) and the Macomb Correctional Facility (MRF).
IT IS SO ORDERED.
The attention of the parties is drawn to Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(a), which provides a period of
fourteen (14) days from the date of receipt of a copy of this order within which to file objections
for consideration by the district judge under 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1).

Dated: September 17, 2014

s/Paul J. Komives
PAUL J. KOMIVES
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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