Brown v. Rivard et al

Filing 24

ORDER finding as MOOT Defendant's 16 Motion for More Definite Statement. Signed by Magistrate Judge Anthony P. Patti. (MWil)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION
TRENT BROWN,
Case No. 5:16-cv-12362
Judge Judith Levy
Magistrate Judge Anthony P. Patti

Plaintiff,
v.
S. RIVARD, et al.,
Defendants.
___________________________________/

ORDER DENYING AS MOOT DEFENDANTS’ MOTION FOR MORE
DEFINITE STATEMENT (DE 16)
Judge Levy has referred pretrial matters to me for resolution in this pro se
prisoner civil rights case. (DE 6.) Pending now is Defendants’ motion for more
definite statement pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(e),1 based on the illegibility of
three pages of pro se Plaintiff’s Complaint. (DE 16.) After being granted an
extension of time to do so (DE 21), Plaintiff filed a response on December 8, 2016.
(DE 23.) Defendant did not file a reply within the time allotted for so doing under
LR 7.1(e)(2)(C).
Defendants correctly assert in their motion that pages 3, 7 and 9 of
Plaintiff’s handwritten Complaint (DE 1) are illegible. Therefore, Defendants “ask

1

 Fed.R.Civ.P.

12(e) provides in relevant part that “[a] party may move for a more
definite statement of a pleading to which a responsive pleading is allowed but
which is so vague or ambiguous that the party cannot reasonably prepare a
response.”
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that this Court order [Plaintiff] Brown to produce a more definite statement or a
more legible complaint.” (DE 16 at 8.) In response, Plaintiff provided new,
handwritten copies of those pages of his Complaint. (DE 23.)
Ideally, Plaintiff would have resubmitted a new copy of the entire
Complaint; nonetheless Defendants received the relief they requested—Plaintiff
has provided legible copies of the previously illegible pages of his Complaint. The
motion for more definite statement (DE 16) accordingly is DENIED AS MOOT.
The portions of Plaintiff’s response containing legible copies of pages 3, 7 and 9 of
Plaintiff’s Complaint (DE 23 at 3, 5 and 6) are substituted for the previously filed,
illegible pages 3, 7 and 9 of the Complaint. (DE 1 at 3, 7, 9.) Defendants shall
answer or otherwise plead in response to Plaintiff’s Complaint by January 10,
2017.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: December 20, 2016

s/Anthony P. Patti
Anthony P. Patti
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

I hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing document was sent to parties of record
on December 20, 2016, electronically and/or by U.S. Mail.
s/Michael Williams
Case Manager for the
Honorable Anthony P. Patti
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