Adams v. Lewis et al

Filing 66

ORDER granting in part and denying in part 65 Motion to Substitute Party.Plaintiff's motion to substitute is GRANTED insofar as the Clerk is DIRECTED to modify the docket to substitute Frank Strada for Lisa Helton as Commis sioner of TDOC. Plaintiff's request that the Court order Defendant Strada to respond to his discovery requests, however, is DENIED. Signed by Magistrate Judge Susan K Lee on 4/3/2023. (BJL)* Mailed to Christopher Adams 328180 TROUSDALE TURNER CORRECTIONAL CENTER WD218 140 MACON WAY HARTSVILLE, TN 37074 Modified on 4/3/2023 (BJL).

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
AT CHATTANOOGA
CHRISTOPHER ADAMS,
Plaintiff,
v.
RANDALL LEWIS,
LISA HELTON, and
SHAWN PHILLIPS,
Defendants.

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No.:

1:22-CV-125-SKL

ORDER
Plaintiff has filed a “Motion for Order to Substitute Party” in which he seeks to substitute
Frank Strada, recently appointed Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Correction
(“TDOC”), as successor to Interim TDOC Commissioner Lisa Helton [Doc. 65]. He also asks the
Court to order Strada to respond to the outstanding discovery requests addressed to Helton [Id. at
2]. Upon due consideration, the motion is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART as set
forth below.
Under Rule 25(d) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, “when a public officer who is a
party in an official capacity. . . ceases to hold office while the action is pending[,] [t]he officer’s
successor is automatically substituted as a party.” Therefore, Plaintiff’s motion to substitute is
GRANTED insofar as the Clerk is DIRECTED to modify the docket to substitute Frank Strada
for Lisa Helton as Commissioner of TDOC.
Plaintiff’s request that the Court order Defendant Strada to respond to his discovery
requests, however, is DENIED. The Court does not oversee routine discovery exchanges, and

Case 1:22-cv-00125-SKL Document 66 Filed 04/03/23 Page 1 of 2 PageID #: 690

Plaintiff has not produced a certification that he first engaged in a good faith attempt to obtain the
discovery from Defendant Strada without the Court’s involvement. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 37.
SO ORDERED.
ENTER.
s/

Susan K. Lee

SUSAN K. LEE
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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