Opinion
CAUSE NO.: 3:19-CV-611-JD-MGG
02-26-2020
KENNETH ALLEN LIVERGOOD, Plaintiff, v. SERGEANT HOLCOMB, et al., Defendants.
OPINION AND ORDER
Kenneth Allen Livergood, a prisoner without a lawyer, filed a motion to amend the complaint. At this stage of the proceedings, "a party may amend the party's pleading only by leave of court or by written consent of the adverse party; and leave shall be freely given when justice so requires." Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2). "Reasons for finding that leave should not be granted include undue delay, bad faith or dilatory motive on the part of the movant, repeated failure to cure deficiencies by amendments previously allowed, undue prejudice to the opposing party by virtue of allowance of the amendment, [and] futility of amendment." Airborne Beepers & Video, Inc. v. AT & T Mobility LLC, 499 F.3d 663, 666 (7th Cir. 2007).
In the screening order, the court granted Livergood leave to proceed on a Fourteenth Amendment claim against Sergeant Holcomb and Officer Crawford for forcing him to eat on a toilet on March 30, 2019, and March 31, 2019 and on a Fourteenth Amendment claim against Sergeant Holcomb placing him in an overcrowded cell on July 17, 2019. In the instant motion, Livergood seeks to add Sheriff Hassel as a defendant to the claim regarding overcrowded conditions. In the interest of justice, the court grants the motion to amend.
For these reasons, the court:
(1) GRANTS the motion to amend (ECF 19);
(2) DIRECTS the clerk to file the amended complaint (ECF 19-1);
(3) GRANTS Kenneth Allen Livergood leave to proceed on a Fourteenth Amendment claim for money damages against Sergeant Holcomb and Officer Crawford for forcing him to eat on a toilet on March 30, 2019, and March 31, 2019;
(4) GRANTS Kenneth Allen Livergood leave to proceed on a Fourteenth Amendment claim for money damages against Sergeant Holcomb and Sheriff Hassel placing him in an overcrowded cell on July 17, 2019;
(5) DISMISSES all other claims;
(6) DIRECTS the clerk and the United States Marshals Service to issue and serve process on Sheriff Hassel at the Marshall County Jail with a copy of this order and the amended complaint (ECF 19-1) as required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915(d); and
(7) ORDERS, pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(g)(2), that Sergeant Holcomb, Officer Crawford, and Sheriff Hassel respond, as provided for in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and N.D. Ind. L.R. 10.1, only to the claim for which Kenneth Allen Livergood has been granted leave to proceed in this screening order.
SO ORDERED on February 26, 2020
/s/ JON E. DEGUILIO
JUDGE
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT