Graham v. Long et al

Filing 4

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER..IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff shall have thirty (30) days from the date of this Order to submit an amended complaint in accordance with the instructions set forth above. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of Court shall mail a blank prisoner civil rights complaint form to plaintiff along with a copy of this Order. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that within thirty (30) days from the date of this Order, plaintiff must submit a copy of his prison trust account statement for the six-month period before the filing of the complaint. Response to Court due by 3/3/2017.. Signed by District Judge Carol E. Jackson on 2/1/17. (MRS)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
SOUTHEASTERN DIVISION
TALMADGE GRAHAM,
Plaintiff,
v.
STEVE LONG, et al.,
Defendants.

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No. 1:17-CV-10 CEJ

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
On December 15, 2016, a prisoner civil rights complaint was filed by Southeast
Correctional Center inmates Damon Johnson, Vincent Sargent, James Mitchell, Talmadge
Graham and Daryl Davis.

Johnson v. Long, No.1:16-CV-293 SNLJ (E.D.Mo.).

After

determining that the plaintiffs were improperly joined, the Court struck four of the plaintiffs
from the complaint and directed the clerk of court to open new cases for them. Id. at Doc. No. 7.
Thus, the joint complaint was filed as an original complaint in each of the separate actions. See
Sargent v. Long, No. 1:17-CV-0012 NAB (E.D.Mo.); Davis v. Long, No. 1:17-CV-0011 SPM
(E.D.Mo.); Graham v. Long, No. 1:17-CV-0010 CEJ (E.D.Mo.); Mitchell v. Long, 1:17-CV0009 NCC (E.D.Mo.).
The Court has reviewed the complaint filed in this matter on behalf of plaintiff Talmadge
Graham and finds that it is defective for the following reasons. The complaint contains multiple
claims by multiple plaintiffs who are no longer a party to the instant lawsuit. Additionally,
plaintiff has named multiple individuals as defendants in this action, but he has failed to make
any allegations against them in his complaint. See Madewell v. Roberts, 909 F.2d 1203, 1208
(8th Cir. 1990) (ALiability under § 1983 requires a causal link to, and direct responsibility for, the

alleged deprivation of rights.@); see also Martin v. Sargent, 780 F.2d 1334, 1338 (8th Cir. 1985)
(claim not cognizable under § 1983 where plaintiff fails to allege defendant was personally
involved in or directly responsible for incidents that injured plaintiff); Boyd v. Knox, 47 F.3d
966, 968 (8th Cir. 1995) (respondeat superior theory inapplicable in § 1983 suits).
The Court believes that the defects in the complaint can be cured by amendment.
Therefore, plaintiff will be given a reasonable amount of time to file an amended complaint on a
court-provided form.1 In the amended complaint, plaintiff must allege facts that support the
claims that his constitutional rights have been violated—he may not assert violations of the
rights of other inmates. Also, plaintiff must allege the conduct or actions giving rise to the
claimed constitutional violations by each defendant he is suing. As to each defendant, plaintiff
must specifically state whether the defendant is being sued in his/her individual capacity or
official capacity.
Plaintiff is warned that the filing of an amended complaint replaces the original
complaint and all previously-filed pleadings. So plaintiff must include each and every one of the
claims he wishes to pursue in the amended complaint. See, e.g., In re Wireless Telephone
Federal Cost Recovery Fees Litigation, 396 F.3d 922, 928 (8th Cir. 2005). The Court will not
consider any complaint filed before the amended complaint. Id. If plaintiff fails to file an
amended complaint in compliance with the Court’s instructions, this action will be dismissed
without prejudice and without further notice. . If the case is dismissed for non-compliance with
this Court’s directives, the dismissal will not count as a “strike” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).

1

Local Rule 2.06(A) allows the Court to require plaintiff to file his complaint on a court-provided
form.
2

Finally, in order to proceed in this lawsuit, plaintiff must submit a certified copy of his
prison trust account statement for the six-month period before the filing of the complaint. If he
fails to do so, the lawsuit will be dismissed, without prejudice.
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff shall have thirty (30) days from the date of
this Order to submit an amended complaint in accordance with the instructions set forth above.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of Court shall mail a blank prisoner civil
rights complaint form to plaintiff along with a copy of this Order.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that within thirty (30) days from the date of this Order,
plaintiff must submit a copy of his prison trust account statement for the six-month period before
the filing of the complaint.
Dated this 1st day of February, 2017.

CAROL E. JACKSON
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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