Gates, et al v. Cook, et al

Filing 1590

ORDER denying 1589 Motion to Reinstate Class Action. Signed by Magistrate Judge David A. Sanders on 2/28/18. (jcm)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI
GREENVILLE DIVISION

NAZARETH GATES, ET AL.
VS.

PLAINTIFFS
CIVIL ACTION NO. 4:71-cv-6-DAS

THOMAS D. COOK, ET AL.

DEFENDANTS

ORDER DENYING MOTION
Russell K. Hill moves this Court to reinstate this class action and to reconsider two orders
previously entered by this Court, one entered on March 10, 2011, by then-Magistrate Judge Jerry
A. Davis, and one entered on September 22, 1997, by then-Chief Judge L.T. Senter, Jr.
Hill filed his motion pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. Proc. 60(b), which “must be made within a
reasonable time” after entry of the order in question. Per the March 2011 order, the portion of the
class action Hill seeks to reinstate has been closed for almost seven years. And the September 1997
order adopting the then-new Inmate Access to the Court Program (“IACP”) is over a decade old.
The Court therefore finds this motion untimely, and it is DENIED.
While Hill asserts multiple grievances with the IACP, this case is not the proper avenue for
redressing those grievances. As Judge Davis stated in the March 2011 order, “[T]his case is closed.
Individual complaints, as always, may be filed, but not in this case.”
SO ORDERED, this the 28th day of February, 2018.
/s/ David A. Sanders
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE