Opinion
CAUSE NO.: 2:18-CV-445-JTM-JEM
02-07-2020
JAMES ANDREW LOHNES, Plaintiff, v. MRS. JOHNSON, Defendant.
OPINION AND ORDER
James Andrew Lohnes, an unrepresented pretrial detainee in the Lake County Jail, filed a motion asking the court to enjoin Mrs. Johnson from handling mail related to this lawsuit. Mrs. Johnson is the defendant in this case and presumably an employee of the jail.
"[A] preliminary injunction is an extraordinary and drastic remedy, one that should not be granted unless the movant, by a clear showing, carries the burden of persuasion." Mazurek v. Armstrong, 520 U.S. 968, 972 (1997). To obtain a preliminary injunction, the moving party must show (1) he will suffer irreparable harm before the final resolution of his claims; (2) available remedies at law are inadequate; and (3) he has a likelihood of success on the merits. See BBL, Inc. v. City of Angola, 809 F.3d 317, 323-24 (7th Cir. 2015).
Here, Lohnes has not demonstrated he can meet any of these requirements. He is proceeding in this case against Mrs. Johnson for monetary damages related to a single past event where he alleges she placed him in danger by threatening to punish other inmates. Even if his mail is destroyed, he will not suffer irreparable harm because he has an adequate remedy at law. See Marshall v. Knight, 445 F.3d 965, 968 (7th Cir. 2006); Van den Bosch v. Raemisch, 658 F.3d 778, 785 (7th Cir. 2011). Moreover, this case is not actually about his mail, so he has no chance of success on the merits of a claim about his mail in this lawsuit.
For these reasons, the motion (DE # 44) is DENIED.
SO ORDERED.
Date: February 7, 2020
s/James T. Moody
JUDGE JAMES T. MOODY
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT