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Smith v. Coffee County Jail

United States District Court, S.D. Georgia, Waycross Division
Jul 2, 2007
CIVIL ACTION NO.: CV507-006 (S.D. Ga. Jul. 2, 2007)

Opinion

CIVIL ACTION NO.: CV507-006.

July 2, 2007


ORDER


Plaintiff filed a Motion to Amend his Complaint in which he requested the Court to substitute "Jerry Pope" and "Kim Phillips" for Coffee County Jail as the named Defendants in this case. United States Magistrate Judge James E. Graham granted Plaintiff's Motion to Amend his Complaint by Order dated May 29, 2007, and allowed Plaintiff fifteen (15) days in which to file an amended complaint. (Doc. No. 13.) Plaintiff filed a pleading entitled "Request for additional time to file for objections." (Doc. No. 14.) However, a review of this pleading indicates that this is Plaintiff's amended complaint. To the extent Plaintiff's pleading is construed as a motion for extension of time to file Objections to the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation, Plaintiff's Motion is DISMISSED.

In his Amended Complaint, which Plaintiff states he filed in lieu of Objections to the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation, Plaintiff requests that Kim Phillips, the jail administrator at Coffee County Jail, be named the Defendant in place of Coffee County Jail. It appears Plaintiff does not wish to assert any claims against Sheriff Jerry Pope.

In his original Complaint, Plaintiff asserts he was not permitted to see a mental health specialist at any time during his incarceration at the Coffee County Jail. The Eighth Amendment's proscription against cruel and unusual punishment imposes a constitutional duty upon prison officials to take reasonable measures to guarantee the safety of prison inmates. This duty to safeguard also embodies the principle expressed by the Court in Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97, 104, 97 S. Ct. 285, 291, 50 L. Ed. 2d 251 (1976), forbidding prison officials from demonstrating deliberate indifference to the serious medical needs of inmates. Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 832, 114 S. Ct. 1970, 1976, 128 L. Ed. 2d 811 (1994).

This assertion, when read in a light most favorable to the Plaintiff, arguably states a colorable claim for relief under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and 28 U.S.C. § 1915A against Defendant Phillips. A copy of Plaintiff's Complaint, Motion to Amend, "Request for additional time to file for objections", and a copy of this Order shall be served upon Defendant Phillips by the United States Marshal without prepayment of cost. If Defendant elects to file a Waiver of Reply, then she must file either a dispositive motion or an answer to the complaint within thirty (30) days of the filing of said Waiver of Reply.

The Court adopts, in part, the Report and Recommendation of the Magistrate Judge, Plaintiff's claims against Coffee County Jail are DISMISSED. The Clerk of Court is directed to add "Kim Phillips" as a Defendant upon the docket of this cause of action.

INSTRUCTIONS TO DEFENDANT

Since the Plaintiff is authorized to proceed in forma pauperis, service must be effected by the United States Marshal. FED. R. CIV. P. 4(c)(2). In most cases, the marshal will first mail a copy of the complaint to Defendant by first-class mail and request that the Defendant waive formal service of summons. FED. R. CIV. P. 4(d); Local Rule 4.7. Individual and corporate defendants have a duty to avoid unnecessary costs of serving the summons, and any such defendant who fails to comply with the request for waiver must bear the costs of personal service unless good cause can be shown for the failure to return the waiver. FED. R. CIV. P. 4(d)(2). Generally, a defendant who timely returns the waiver is not required to answer the complaint until sixty (60) days after the date that the marshal sent the request for waiver. FED. R. CIV. P. 4(d)(3).

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant is hereby granted leave of court to take the deposition of the Plaintiff upon oral examination. FED. R. CIV. P. 30(a). Defendant shall ensure that the Plaintiff's deposition and any other depositions in the case are taken within the 140-day discovery period allowed by this court's local rules.

In the event that Defendant takes the deposition of any other person, Defendant is ordered to comply with the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30 as set forth herein. As the Plaintiff will likely not be in attendance for such a deposition, Defendant shall notify Plaintiff of the deposition and advise him that he may serve on Defendant, in a sealed envelope, within ten (10) days of the notice of deposition, written questions the Plaintiff wishes to propound to the witness, if any. Defendant shall present such questions to the witness seriatim during the deposition. FED. R. CIV. P. 30(c).

INSTRUCTIONS TO PLAINTIFF

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff shall serve upon Defendant or, if appearance has been entered by counsel, upon her attorney, a copy of every further pleading or other document submitted for consideration by the court. Plaintiff shall include with the original paper to be filed with the Clerk of Court a certificate stating the date on which a true and correct copy of any document was mailed to Defendant or her counsel. FED. R. CIV. P. 5. "Every pleading shall contain a caption setting forth the name of the court, the title of the action, [and] the file number[.]" FED. R. CIV. P. 10(a). Any paper received by a district judge or magistrate judge which has not been filed with the Clerk or which fails to include a caption or a certificate of service will be disregarded by the court and returned to the sender.

Plaintiff is charged with the responsibility of immediately informing this court and defense counsel of any change of address during the pendency of this action. Local Rule 11.1. Failure to do so may result in dismissal of this case.

Plaintiff has the responsibility for pursuing this case. For example, if Plaintiff wishes to obtain facts and information about the case from Defendant, Plaintiff must initiate discovery.See generally FED. R. CIV. P. 26, et seq. Plaintiff does not need the permission of the court to begin discovery, and Plaintiff should begin discovery promptly and complete it within 140 days after the filing of the answer. Local Rule 26.1.

Interrogatories are a practical method of discovery for incarcerated persons. See FED. R. CIV. P. 33. Interrogatories may be served only on a party to the litigation, and, for the purposes of the instant case, this means that interrogatories should not be directed to persons or organizations who are notnamed as a Defendant. Interrogatories shall not be filed with the court. Local Rule 26.6. Interrogatories are not to contain more than twenty-five (25) questions. FED. R. CIV. P. 33(a). If Plaintiff wishes to propound more than twenty-five (25) interrogatories to a party, Plaintiff must have permission of the court. If Plaintiff wishes to file a motion to compel, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37, he should first contact the attorney for Defendant and try to work out the problem; if Plaintiff proceeds with the motion to compel, he should also file a statement certifying that he has contacted opposing counsel in a good faith effort to resolve any dispute about discovery. FED. R. CIV. P. 26(c); 37(a)(2)(A); Local Rule 26.7. Plaintiff has the responsibility for maintaining his own records of the case. If Plaintiff loses papers and needs new copies, he may obtain them from the Clerk of Court at the standard cost of fifty ($.50) cents per page.

If Plaintiff does not press his case forward, the court may dismiss it for want of prosecution. FED. R. CIV. P. 41; Local Rule 41.1.

It is the Plaintiff's duty to cooperate fully in any discovery which may be initiated by Defendant. Upon no less than five (5) days notice of the scheduled deposition date, the Plaintiff shall appear and permit his deposition to be taken and shall answer, under oath or solemn affirmation, any question which seeks information relevant to the subject matter of the pending action. Failing to answer questions at the deposition or giving evasive or incomplete responses to questions will not be tolerated and may subject Plaintiff to severe sanctions, including dismissal of this case.

As the case progresses, Plaintiff may receive a notice addressed to "counsel of record" directing the parties to prepare and submit a Joint Status Report and a Proposed Pretrial Order. A plaintiff proceeding without counsel may prepare and file a unilateral Status Report and is required to prepare and file his own version of the Proposed Pretrial Order. A plaintiff who is incarcerated shall not be required or entitled to attend any status or pretrial conference which may be scheduled by the court.

ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS TO PLAINTIFF REGARDING MOTIONS TO DISMISS AND MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

Under this Court's Local Rules, a party opposing a motion to dismiss shall file and serve his response to the motion within fifteen (15) days of its service. "Failure to respond shall indicate that there is no opposition to a motion." Local Rule 7.5. Therefore, if you fail to respond to a motion to dismiss, the Court will assume that you do not oppose the Defendant's motion.

Your response to a motion for summary judgment must be filed within twenty (20) days after service of the motion. Local Rules 7.5, 56.1. The failure to respond to such a motion shall indicate that there is no opposition to the motion. Furthermore, each material fact set forth in the Defendant's statement of material facts will be deemed admitted unless specifically controverted by an opposition statement. Should Defendant file a motion for summary judgment, you are advised that you will have the burden of establishing the existence of a genuine issue as to any material fact in this case. That burden cannot be carried by reliance on the conclusory allegations contained within the complaint. Should the Defendant's motion for summary judgment be supported by affidavit, you must file counter-affidavits if you desire to contest the Defendant's statement of the facts. Should you fail to file opposing affidavits setting forth specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial, the consequences are these: any factual assertions made in Defendant's affidavits will be accepted as true and summary judgment will be entered against the Plaintiff pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56.

SO ORDERED.


Summaries of

Smith v. Coffee County Jail

United States District Court, S.D. Georgia, Waycross Division
Jul 2, 2007
CIVIL ACTION NO.: CV507-006 (S.D. Ga. Jul. 2, 2007)
Case details for

Smith v. Coffee County Jail

Case Details

Full title:JEREMY DAN SMITH, Plaintiff, v. COFFEE COUNTY JAIL and KIM PHILLIPS, Jail…

Court:United States District Court, S.D. Georgia, Waycross Division

Date published: Jul 2, 2007

Citations

CIVIL ACTION NO.: CV507-006 (S.D. Ga. Jul. 2, 2007)