Opinion
No. 10 C 4917.
September 17, 2010
MEMORANDUM
George P. Riddick III ("Riddick") has filed a pro se Answer to the Complaint brought against him and related defendants by Bernina of America, Inc. This memorandum order is occasioned by Riddick's failure to comply with the important procedural requirement of this District Court's Local Rule ("LR") 10.1:
Responsive pleadings shall be made in numbered paragraphs each corresponding to and stating a concise summary of the paragraph to which it is directed.
That LR has, as its obvious purpose, the goal of enabling the reader (whether Bernina's counsel or this Court) to ascertain by reading a single document — rather than by having to flip back and forth between two pleadings — all areas in which the parties are or are not at odds with each other. And although Riddick is acting without counsel, he is of course expected to make himself aware of and to comply with court rules, particularly those of a noncomplex nature.
Accordingly Riddick is ordered to file an Amended Answer in conformity with LR 10.1 (for his information, that rule is most commonly complied with by simply repeating each paragraph of the complaint, followed by an answer to that paragraph, rather than imposing on the reader the burden of paraphrasing or summarizing the complaint's allegations). That Amended Answer is ordered to be filed on or before September 30, 2010.
For Riddick's information, his repeated use of the phraseology "and respectfully refers all matters of law to the Court" is really meaningless, plays no part in proper pleading and should be omitted from the Amended Answer.
Date: September 17, 2010