Opinion
1:21-cv-02961-JPH-MG
02-02-2022
ANGELITO C MERCADO, Plaintiff, v. AIDA RAMIREZ, Defendant.
ORDER ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
JAMES PATRICK HANLON, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Having screened Mr. Mercado's complaint under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, Magistrate Judge Mario Garcia has entered a Report and Recommendation, dkt. 7, recommending:
1. The Clerk shall consolidate Case No. 1:21-cv-2961-JPH-MG into Case No. 1:20-cv-2179-JPH-TAB and close Case No. 1:21-cv-2961-JPH-MG, and no further filings should be made in that case. No final judgment will issue in Case No. 1:21-cv-2961- JPH-MG.
2. The Clerk is directed to add Aida Ramirez as a defendant in Case No. 1:20-cv-2179-JPH-TAB.
3. All future filings shall be filed in Case No. 1:20-cv-2179-JPH-TAB.
4. The following claims shall proceed against Defendant Aida Ramirez: (1) conspiracy under 42 U.S.C. § 1985, (2) failure to intervene and equal protection in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, and (3) retaliation under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. This ruling is without prejudice to the filing of a proper Fed.R.Civ.P. 12 motion.
5. The stay entered in Case No. 1:20-cv-2179-JPH-TAB is lifted for the sole purpose of requiring Defendant Aida Ramirez to file a responsive pleading to Plaintiff's Complaint within 28 days following an order on this Report and Recommendation. All other aspects of the stay shall remain in place.
The parties have had the opportunity to object but have not done so. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 72(b); 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). The Court has considered and now ADOPTS the Report and Recommendation, as amended below. Dkt. [7].
Based upon the recommendation to consolidate, the stay in Case No. 1:20-cv-2179-JPH-TAB is lifted for the purpose of requiring Mr. Mercado to file a second amended complaint by March 3, 2022. The second amended complaint shall encompass the claims asserted in his amended complaint, 1:21-cv-2179-JPH-TAB Dkt. 109, and the additional claims asserted against Defendant Ramirez in this case as outlined at (4) above, but the second amended complaint shall not add new parties or new claims. The stay is additionally lifted for the purpose of filing responsive pleadings.
The Clerk shall consolidate Case No. 1:21-cv-2961-JPH-MG into Case No. 1:20-cv-2179-JPH-TAB and close Case No. 1:21-cv-2961-JPH-MG. The Clerk is directed to add Aida Ramirez as a defendant in Case No. 1:20-cv-2179-JPH-TAB and shall docket a copy of this order in that case.
All future filings shall be filed in Case No. 1:20-cv-2179-JPH-TAB.
SO ORDERED.
Distribution:
ANGELITO C MERCADO
933594
c/o Bartholomew County Jail 543 2nd St
Columbus, IN 47201
James Alex Emerson
COOTS HENKE & WHEELER, P.C.
Matthew L. Hinkle
COOTS HENKE & WHEELER
mhinkle@chwlaw.com