Walker v. Hunt et al

Filing 232

ORDER granting in part and denying in part 157 Motion to Amend/Correct; granting in part and denying in part 163 Motion to Amend Caption; granting in part and denying in part 208 Motion to Amend/Correct. See Order for details. Signed by Magistrate Judge Robert P. Myers, Jr on 5/5/21. (JCH)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPPI
SOUTHERN DIVISION
DEMARIO DONTEZ WALKER,
V.

PLAINTIFF
CIVIL ACTION NO. 1:19-CV-246-LG-RPM

JOHNATHAN HUNT, ET AL.

DEFENDANTS

ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART MOTION TO AMEND THE
CASE CAPTION
Before the Court are multiple motions by pro se plaintiff Demario Dontez Walker a/k/a
Kiriyama Zyreonia San Givonni 1 (“Walker”) to amend the case caption in the present case. See
Doc. [157, 163, 208]. Walker asks the Court to amend the case caption to reflect that his name is
now “Kiriyama Zyreonia San Givonni.” Ibid. While the Court has already added “Kiriyama
Zyreonia San Givonni” as an alias, see Doc. [143], the Court liberally construes the present
motions, Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94, 127 S.Ct. 2197, 167 L.Ed.2d 1081 (2007), as a
request to drop the name “Demario Dontez Walker” from the case caption altogether, Doc. [157,
163, 208].
The Court begins with the relevant procedural history. On April 19, 2019, Walker filed this
action under the name “Demario Dontez Walker,” the same name with which he has filed
numerous other lawsuits in the Southern District of Mississippi. Doc. [1]. On November 19, 2020,
Walker filed his first motion to amend his name in the case caption from “Demario Dontez Walker”
to “Kiriyama Zyreonia San Givonni.” See Doc. [140]. Since Walker only provided the first page

In passing, the Court notes that Walker, in relevant part, purposefully spells his new legal last name as “Givonni”
rather than “Giovanni.” See Doc. [163], Ex. 1.

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of a Lafayette County Chancery Court order, dated December 16, 2019, 2 this Court concluded that
he would be allowed to proceed as “Demario Dontez Walker a/k/a Kiriyama Zyreonia San
Givonni.” Doc. [143]. Since that time, however, Walker has provided the Court with the entire
chancery court order. Doc. [163], Ex. 1.
The Court turns to the appropriate Federal Rule of Civil Procedure, Rule 15. See, e.g., Hinds
v. Orix Cap. Markets, L.L.C., No. CIV.A.3:02–CV–0239–P, 2003 WL 21350210, at *4 (N.D. Tex.
June 10, 2003). Pursuant to Rule 15(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, “a party may
amend its pleading only with the opposing party’s written consent or the court’s leave.” Fed. R.
Civ. P. 15(a)(2). “The court should freely give leave when justice so requires.” Ibid. Nevertheless,
“[l]eave to amend is not automatic.” N. Cypress Med. Ctr. Operating Co., Ltd. v. Aetna Life Ins.
Co., 898 F.3d 461, 477 (5th Cir. 2018). As such, leave to amend “may be denied for ‘undue delay,
bad faith or dilatory motive on the part of the movant, repeated failures to cure deficiencies by
amendments previously allowed, undue prejudice to the opposing party . . . , and futility of the
amendment.’” Id. (quoting Marucci Sports, L.L.C. v. Nat’l Collegiate Athletic Ass’n, 751 F.3d 368,
378 (5th Cir. 2014)). For the reasons that follow, the Court grants Walker’s motions in part and
denies them in part.
The Court begins with two significant reasons that weigh against granting the motions. First,
the Court is acutely aware that Walker has used the name “Demario Dontez Walker” in the
numerous other, largely frivolous, 3 lawsuits that he has filed over the past 15 years. See, e.g.,

The state court order is dated December 16, 2019, but the nunc pro tunc date of name change was October 14, 2019.
See Doc. [163], Ex. 1.
3
See Walker v. Banks, et al., No. 3:17–CV–995–CWR–FKB (S.D. Miss. Dec. 11, 2017), Final Judgment and issued
second sanction warning at CM/ECF Doc. [10]; Walker v. Holloway, et al., No. 1:17–CV–283–LG–RHW (S.D. Miss.
Oct. 10, 2017), Final Judgment and issued second sanction warning at CM/ECF Doc. [10]; Walker v. Lewis, et al.,
No. 3:12–CV–650–CWR–LRA (S.D. Miss. Sept. 18, 2012), Judgment of Dismissal (restricted) at CM/ECF Doc. [6];
Walker v. Lewis, et al., No. 3:12–CV–441–CWR–LRA (S.D. Miss. June 29, 2012), Order denying IFP status and
setting payment schedule at CM/ECF Doc. [5]; Walker v. Lewis, et al., No. 3:12–CV–364–HTW–LRA (S.D. Miss.
May 29, 2012), Order splitting case at CM/ECF Doc. [4]; Walker v. Cox, et al., No. 4:10–CV–201–HTW–LRA (S.D.
2

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Walker v. Hollaway, No. 1:17–CV–244–LG–RHW, 2018 WL 7283267, at *2 (S.D. Miss. Nov. 7,
2018), report and recommendation adopted sub nom. Walker v. Holloway, No. 1:17–CV–244–
LG–RHW, 2019 WL 507490 (S.D. Miss. Feb. 8, 2019). As such, the Court has serious concerns
whether Walker is merely attempting to change his name in order to escape his history of filing
largely meritless lawsuits. See, e.g., Walker v. Turner, No. 4:18–CV–48–GHD–DAS, 2019 WL
1460888 (N.D. Miss. Apr. 2, 2019), appeal dismissed, No. 19–60281, 2019 WL 5454748 (5th Cir.
June 12, 2019). Furthermore, notwithstanding receiving a chancery court order dated December
16, 2019, Walker continued to use the name “Demario Dontez Walker” for months thereafter, such
as when signing legal documents, before moving the Court to amend the case caption. See, e.g.,
Doc. [103, 140]. On the other hand, the Court must, and does, give full faith and credit to the
Mississippi state court order which legally changed Walker’s name to “Kiriyama Zyreonia San
Givonni.” See 28 U.S.C. § 1738. Furthermore, the defendants will not suffer significant harm if
the motion is granted in the present case. In balancing these competing concerns, the Court

Miss. Dec. 1, 2010), Order denying IFP status and dismissing case at CM/ECF Doc. [3]; Walker v. Delaine, et al., No.
4:09–CV–127–TSL–LRA (S.D. Miss. Sept. 25, 2009), Order denying IFP status and dismissing case at CM/ECF Doc.
[9]; Walker v. McCleod, et al., No. 3:09–CV–699–HTW–LRA (S.D. Miss. Nov. 20, 2009), Order denying IFP status
and dismissing case at CM/ECF Doc. [3]; Walker v. Epps, et al., No. 2:09–CV–128–KS–MTP (S.D. Miss. July 14,
2009), voluntary dismissal at CM/ECF Doc. [18]; Walker v. Caskey, et al., No. 4:09–CV–120–HTW–LRA (S.D. Miss.
Sept. 14, 2009), stipulation of dismissal at CM/ECF Doc. [3]; Walker v. Cole, et al., No. 2:08–CV–217–KS–MTP
(S.D. Miss. Sept. 30, 2008), Order denying IFP status and dismissing case at CM/ECF Doc. [10]; Walker v. Walker,
et al., No. 5:09–CV–13–DCB–MTP (S.D. Miss. Feb. 9, 2009), Order denying IFP status and dismissing case at
CM/ECF Doc. [5]; Walker v. Clark, et al., No. 3:08–CV–647–WHB–LRA (S.D. Miss. Oct. 21. 30, 2008), Order
denying IFP status and dismissing case at CM/ECF Doc. [8]; Walker v. McCullum, et al., No. 3:08–CV–452–DPJ–
JCS (S.D. Miss. July 22, 2008), Order denying IFP status and dismissing case at CM/ECF Doc. [12]; Walker v. Magee,
et al., No. 2:08–CV–235–KS–MTP (S.D. Miss. Oct. 28, 2008), Order denying IFP status and dismissing case at
CM/ECF Doc. [15]; Walker v. King, et al., No. 3:08–CV–459–TSL–JCS (S.D. Miss. July 25, 2008), Order denying
IFP status and dismissing case at CM/ECF Doc. [9]; Walker v. Woodard, et al., No. 2:08–CV–233–KS–MTP (S.D.
Miss. Oct. 27, 2008), Order denying IFP status and dismissing case at CM/ECF Doc. [15]; Walker v. Cole, et al., No.
2:08–CV–217–KS–MTP (S.D. Miss. Sept. 30, 2008), Order denying IFP status and dismissing case at CM/ECF Doc.
[10]; Walker, et al. v. Epps, et al., No. 2:08–CV–194–KS–MTP (S.D. Miss. Sept. 3, 2008), Order denying IFP status
and dismissing case at CM/ECF Doc. [21]; Walker v. Landcasta, et al., No. 2:08–CV–161–KS–MTP (S.D. Miss. Aug.
5, 2008), Order denying IFP status and dismissing case at CM/ECF Doc. [16]; Walker v. United States of America, et
al., No. 3:08–CV–1314–JAH–LSP (S.D. Cal. Dec. 3, 2008) (dismissed for failure to state a claim); Walker v. San
Diego County Clerks, et al., No. 3:08–CV–1504–JLS–NLS (S.D. Cal. Nov. 25, 2008) (dismissed as frivolous); Walker
v. Jackson, et al., No. 5:08–CV–221–DCB–MTP (S.D. Miss. July 14, 2008) (dismissed as malicious).

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concludes that the case caption will be further amended to state “Demario Dontez Walker now
known as Kiriyama Zyreonia San Givonni.”
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that plaintiff Demario Dontez Walker’s motions [157, 163,
208] to amend the case caption are GRANTED IN PART, to the extent that the Clerk of the Court
shall amend the docket to reflect that Walker’s name is “Demario Dontez Walker n/k/a Kiriyama
Zyreonia San Givonni” and DENIED IN PART as to all other relief sought.
SO ORDERED, this the 5th day of May 2021.
/s/

Robert P. Myers, Jr.

ROBERT P. MYERS, JR.
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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