Opinion
CIVIL ACTION NO. 5:08CV-189-R.
January 20, 2010
MEMORANDUM OPINION
On review of the complaint and its amendment and for the reasons that follow, the Court will administratively close this action without prejudice.
In November 2008, Plaintiff filed two actions in this Court. In Civil Action No. 5:08CV-188-R (hereinafter referred to as Tunne I), Plaintiff sued various state and municipal actors and entities. He alleged violations of 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985, the Fourth Amendment, the FTCA, the Bivens' doctrine, and state law. He attached letters to the complaint stating his allegations against Defendants, and, in the complaint, he indicated that he was seeking damages.
Specifically, Plaintiff sued the Paducah Police Dep't; the City of Paducah; the McCracken County Prosecutor; the Commonwealth of Kentucky; Paducah Police Officer Tim Reed; and the Paducah Commonwealth's Attorney's Office.
In the instant action, Civil Action No. 5:08CV-189-R (hereinafter referred to as Tunne II), Plaintiff sued the United States Postal Service (USPS); the Paducah Postal Service; USPS employees Beth Cluck and Russell McCuiston; and Postal Inspector Andrew Zeman. Like in his companion action, Plaintiff alleged violations of 42 U.S.C. §§ 1983 and 1985, the Fourth Amendment, the FTCA, and the Bivens' doctrine. Plaintiff indicated that he seeks damages, but in neither the complaint nor two documents attached to the complaint did Plaintiff provide any allegations against the federal Defendants. Due to this lack of specificity, the Court, during a telephonic conference, permitted Plaintiff to amend his complaint to more specifically state his allegations and claims against the federal Defendants. The Court also allowed him to file an amended complaint in Tunne I.
Plaintiff filed an amended complaint in both actions. The amended complaints are identical with the exception of the placement of the different case numbers in their respective captions. In the amended complaints, he names, as Defendants, the United States Postal Service/Paducah Annex (USPS); USPS employees, Beth Cluck and Russell McCuiston; and Andrew Zeman, a U.S. Postal Inspector.
By separate Memorandum Opinion and Order entered this date in Tunne I, the Court conducted an initial review of the complaint and the amended complaint in Tunne I pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2) and McGore v. Wrigglesworth, 114 F.3d 601 (6th Cir. 1997). On review, the Court dismissed some claims and allowed several claims to proceed against Defendant Reed and against the federal Defendants named in the instant action, Tunne II.
The Court allowed the following claims to proceed: the § 1983 Fourth Amendment claims of false arrest, false imprisonment, and malicious prosecution against Defendant Reed; the Fourth Amendment Bivens claims (false arrest, false imprisonment, and malicious prosecution) against Defendants Cluck, McCuiston, and Zeman; the state-law claims of false arrest, false imprisonment, abuse of process, and malicious prosecution against Defendants USPS, Cluck, McCuiston, Zeman, and Reed; and the state-law claim of slander per se against Defendant Reed. All other claims were dismissed.
Because the amended complaints are identical in content, the Court in Tunne I has already considered all claims raised against the federal Defendants sued in the instant action, Tunne II. The Court, therefore, need not reconsider those claims here. Instead, the Court will direct the Clerk of Court to administratively close Tunne II without prejudice to the claims continuing against the federal Defendants in Tunne I.
The Court will enter an Order consistent with this Memorandum Opinion.