Campbell v. Illinois

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS CALEB CAMPBELL, #99447, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) vs. ) Case No. 3:22-cv-00978-SMY ) STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) ) Defendant. ) MEMORANDUM AND ORDER YANDLE, District Judge: Plaintiff Caleb Campbell, a pretrial detainee in the Madison County Jail, filed the instant lawsuit pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for alleged deprivations of his constitutional rights related to state court criminal proceedings. This case is now before the Court for preliminary review of the Complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. Any portion of the Complaint that is legally frivolous, malicious, fails to state a claim for relief, or requests money damages from an immune defendant must be dismissed. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b).

Discussion Some individuals referenced by Plaintiff in his statement of claim are not identified as defendants in the case caption. Because Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 10(a) requires the names of all parties to be included in the case caption, the Complaint fails to state a claim against the individuals mentioned in the body of the Complaint but not identified in the case caption. Myles v. United States, 416 F.3d 551, 551–52 (7th Cir. 2005). Moreover, the only named defendant – the State of Illinois – is not subject to suit for money damages under § 1983. Thomas v. Illinois, 697 F.3d 612, 613 (7th Cir. 2012).

As no viable defendant is appropriately named in the Complaint, it must be dismissed.

Plaintiff will be granted leave to file a First Amended Complaint to re-plead his claims.

Disposition The State of Illinois is DISMISSED with prejudice and the Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to TERMINATE it as a party.

The Complaint is DISMISSED without prejudice for failure to state a claim for relief.

Plaintiff is GRANTED leave to file a First Amended Complaint by July 1, 2022. The First Amended Complaint will be subject to review under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A.

Should Plaintiff file a First Amended Complaint, it is strongly recommended that he use the civil rights complaint form designed for use in this District. He should label the form “First Amended Complaint” and use the case number for this action (No. 22-978). Further, Plaintiff should identify each defendant in the case caption and include sufficient allegations against each defendant to describe what the defendant did or failed to do to violate his constitutional rights, see DiLeo v. Ernst & Young, 901 F.2d 624, 627 (7th Cir. 1990) (a successful complaint generally alleges “the who, what, when, where, and how ....”), and as much as possible, include the relevant facts in chronological order, inserting each defendant’s name where necessary to identify the actors and each defendant’s actions. While Plaintiff may use “John Doe” or “Jane Doe” to refer to parties whose names are unknown, he must still follow pleading standards and include a short, plain statement of the case against that party. He must describe each Doe Defendant and their involvement in the alleged unconstitutional conduct (for example, John Doe did X and Jane Doe did Y). To facilitate Plaintiff’s compliance with this Order, the Clerk of Court is DIRECTED to mail Plaintiff a civil rights complaint form.

An amended complaint supersedes and replaces the original complaint, rendering the original complaint void. See Flannery v. Recording Indus. Ass’n of Am., 354 F.3d 632, 638 n. 1 (7th Cir. 2004). Therefore, the Court will not accept piecemeal amendments to a previously filed Complaint. Instead, the First Amended Complaint must stand on its own, without reference to any previous pleading. Plaintiff should attach any exhibits that he wishes to submit with the First Amended Complaint.

If Plaintiff fails to file his First Amended Complaint within the allotted time or consistent with the instructions set forth in this Order, the case will be dismissed with prejudice for failure to state a claim for relief, failure to comply with a court order, and for failure to prosecute his claims.

See Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b); Ladien v. Astrachan, 128 F.3d 1051 (7th Cir. 1997); Johnson v. Kamminga, 34 F.3d 466 (7th Cir. 1994); 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2). The dismissal will count as a “strike” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).

Plaintiff is ADVISED that if judgment is rendered against him and the judgment includes the payment of costs under 28 U.S.C. §1915, he will be required to pay the full amount of the costs. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(f)(2)(A).

Plaintiff is further ADVISED that he is under a continuing obligation to keep the Clerk of Court informed of any change in his address; the Court will not independently investigate his whereabouts. This shall be done in writing and not later than 7 days after a transfer or other change in address occurs. Failure to comply with this order will cause a delay in the transmission of court documents and may result in dismissal of this action for want of prosecution. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(b).

IT IS SO ORDERED.

DATED: June 1, 2022 s/ Staci M. Yandle_____ STACI M. YANDLE United States District Judge