Opinion
3:22-CV-379-JD-MGG
06-23-2022
LANDON HILL-BEY, Plaintiff, v. JOHN GALIPEAU, LIVERS, JOHN R. HARVIL, and ROBERT E. CARTER, JR., Defendants.
OPINION AND ORDER
JON E. DEGUILIO, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CHIEF JUDGE
Landon Hill-Bey, a prisoner without a lawyer, filed a vague complaint against four defendants based on events which occurred on six days in June, July, August, and September 2021. ECF 1. “A document filed pro se is to be liberally construed, and a pro se complaint, however inartfully pleaded, must be held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.” Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94 (2007) (quotation marks and citations omitted). Nevertheless, under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, the court must review the merits of a prisoner complaint and dismiss it if the action is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such relief.
Hill-Bey names only one of the defendants in the body of the complaint. He alleges Grievance Specialist John R. Harvil denied and/or mishandled his grievance, but “[p]rison grievance procedures are not mandated by the First Amendment and do not by their very existence create interests protected by the Due Process Clause, and so the alleged mishandling of [a prisoner's] grievances by persons who otherwise did not cause or participate in the underlying conduct states no claim.” Owens v. Hinsley, 635 F.3d 950, 953 (7th Cir. 2011). As for the other three defendants, he does not explain how any were personally involved.
This complaint does not state a claim for which relief can be granted. If Hill-Bey believes he can state a claim based on (and consistent with) the events described in this complaint, he may file an amended complaint because “[t]he usual standard in civil cases is to allow defective pleadings to be corrected, especially in early stages, at least where amendment would not be futile.” Abu-Shawish v. United States, 898 F.3d 726, 738 (7th Cir. 2018). To file an amended complaint, he needs to write this cause number on a Pro Se 14 (INND Rev. 2/20) Prisoner Complaint form which is available from his law library. After he properly completes that form addressing the issues raised in this order, he needs to send it to the court.
For these reasons, the court GRANTS Landon Hill-Bey until July 26, 2022, to file an amended complaint; and CAUTIONS him if he does not respond by the deadline, this case will be dismissed under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A without further notice because the current complaint does not state a claim for which relief can be granted.
SO ORDERED