Jackson v. Montana State Prison et al

Filing 8

ORDER denying 7 Motion for Summary Judgment. Signed by Magistrate Judge John Johnston on 8/7/2018. Mailed to Jackson (TAG)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MONTANA
HELENA DIVISION
BRADLEY V. JACKSON,

CV 18-00001-H-DLC-JTJ

Plaintiff,
vs.

ORDER

MONTANA STATE PRISON, WARDEN
MICHAEL FLETCHER, MARRISA
BOSTWICK and TIFFANY MORRISON,
Defendants.
Plaintiff Bradley Jackson filed a one paragraph motion seeking default
summary judgment because Defendants failed to respond to the original
complaint. (Doc. 7.) Rule 55(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides,
“[w]hen a party against whom a judgment for affirmative relief is sought has failed
to plead or otherwise defend, and that failure is shown by affidavit or otherwise,
the clerk must enter the party’s default.”
As Mr. Jackson was previously advised (Doc. 4), pursuant to the federal
statutes governing proceedings in forma pauperis and cases filed by prisoners,
federal courts must engage in a preliminary screening of a case to assess the merits
of the claims. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2); 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The Court
completed this process and issued an Order directing the Clerk to serve
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Defendants on August 1, 2018. (Doc. 6.) Defendants have not yet filed a Waiver
of Service of Summons.
Because there is no proof that Defendants have otherwise been served with
the Complaint in this matter, there is no basis for the entry of default or default
judgment.
Accordingly, the Court issues the following:
ORDER
Mr. Jackson’s Motion for Default Summary Judgment (Doc. 7) is DENIED.
DATED this 7th day of August, 2018.

/s/ John Johnston
John Johnston
United States Magistrate Judge

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