Opinion
CAUSE NO. 3:20-CV-179-DRL-MGG
07-06-2020
MATTHEW ALAN SCHROCK, JR., Plaintiff, v. MARK SEVIER et al., Defendants.
OPINION & ORDER
Matthew Alan Schrock, Jr., a prisoner proceeding without a lawyer, filed a complaint under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against eleven defendants based on a variety of separate incidents. He claims that in February 2019, someone at the prison improperly opened mail he was sending to his daughter's guardian ad litem and stole some self-addressed stamped envelopes. He sues the mail room supervisor and various mail room staff members. He claims that in March 2019, prison staff member Elizabeth Defilice prevented him from attending a telephonic court hearing by falsely claiming that no one was available to escort him. He also claims that general inadequacies in the prison law library have prevented him from pursuing litigation he wanted to pursue. He seeks to hold liable the warden, the deputy warden, the grievance coordinator, and others.
"Unrelated claims against different defendants belong in different suits[.]" George v. Smith, 507 F.3d 605, 607 (7th Cir. 2007); see also Owens v. Evans, 878 F.3d 559, 566 (7th Cir. 2017). When a plaintiff files a complaint with unrelated claims, it is the practice of this court to allow him to decide which related claims to pursue in the present case, as well as to decide whether to bring the other claims in separate suits, because "the plaintiff as master of the complaint may present (or abjure) any claim he likes." Katz v. Gerardi, 552 F.3d 558, 563 (7th Cir. 2009); see also Wheeler v. Wexford Health Sources, Inc., 689 F.3d 680, 683 (7th Cir. 2012) (holding that district courts may direct a plaintiff "to file separate complaints, each confined to one group of injuries and defendants."). As an additional matter, Mr. Schrock has not used the court's prisoner complaint form, and his handwritten complaint does not contain all the information necessary to determine whether he states a viable claim against any defendant.
Therefore, the complaint will be stricken. Mr. Schrock must decide which related claims he wants to pursue in this case. He must then obtain a blank Prisoner Complaint (INND Rev. 8/16) form from the prison law library and put this cause number on it. He must include only facts about the related claims he wishes to raise in this case, and list only the defendants he is suing in connection with those events. If Mr. Schrock wants to pursue any other unrelated claims, he must file a new case.
For these reasons, the court:
(1) STRIKES the complaint (ECF 1);
(2) GRANTS the plaintiff until August 14 , 2020 to file an amended complaint on this court's prisoner complaint form containing only related claims; and
(3) CAUTIONS him that if he does not respond by the deadline, this case is subject to dismissal without further notice for failure to prosecute.
SO ORDERED.
July 6, 2020
s/ Damon R . Leichty
Judge, United States District Court