Opinion
CIVIL 5:24-CV-00029-CAR-MSH
02-09-2024
ERIK E PRYOR, Plaintiff v. DOOLY STATE PRISON, et al., Defendants.
ORDER
C. ASHLEY ROYAL, SENIOR JUDGE.
Presently pending before the Court is a Complaint filed by pro se Erik E. Pryor, an inmate in the Coastal State Prison in Garden City, Georgia, seeking relief pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (ECF No. 1). A review of Court records reveals, however, that Plaintiff has filed a case raising virtually identical claims that is also pending before the Court, Pryor v. Dooly State Prison, 5:23-cv-00475-TES-MSH (M.D. Ga. Nov. 28, 2023) (“Pryor I”).
“As part of its general power to administer its docket, a district court may stay or dismiss a suit that is duplicative” of one already pending in federal court. Curtis v. Citibank, 226 F.3d 133, 138 (2d Cir. 2000). “[A] suit is duplicative of another suit if the parties, issues, and available relief do not significantly differ between the two actions.” I.A. Durbin, Inc. v. Jefferson Nat'l Bank, 793 F.2d 1541, 1551 (11th Cir. 1986). “Trial courts are afforded broad discretion in determining whether to stay or dismiss litigation in order to avoid duplicating a proceeding already pending in another federal court.” Id. at 1551-52.
Each of the parties named as a Defendant in the above-captioned action has also been named as a Defendant in Pryor I, and the statement of claims and the description of the relief sought in this case are nearly identical to those set forth in the Complaint in Pryor I. Indeed, it appears Plaintiff may have filed the Complaint in this case in response to the Court's December 28, 2023 Order in Pryor I, which directed Plaintiff to file a signed copy of his Complaint in that case. Because the present action is duplicative of one already pending in this Court, it shall be DISMISSED without prejudice, but the Clerk is DIRECTED to docket a copy of the Complaint in this case (ECF No. 1) as an amended complaint in Pryor I.
SO ORDERED.