Banks v. Sheahan

914 F. Supp. 231, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19359, 1996 WL 3971
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedDecember 29, 1995
DocketNo. 92 C 6828
StatusPublished

This text of 914 F. Supp. 231 (Banks v. Sheahan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Banks v. Sheahan, 914 F. Supp. 231, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19359, 1996 WL 3971 (N.D. Ill. 1995).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

HART, District Judge.

Pro se plaintiff Randy Banks, a/k/a Hiram Abiff,1 claims that defendants Michael Sheah-an, the Sheriff of Cook County, and J.W. Fairman, the director of the Cook County Jail, deprived him of his constitutional right of access to court while he was incarcerated [233]*233at the Cook County Jail.2 Plaintiff claims that he informed Sheahan and Fairman that he had not been permitted to take his legal papers when he was transferred to an Indiana prison and requested their assistance in forwarding the papers, but they failed to take any action. Plaintiff also claims that loss of those papers interfered with a pending criminal appeal and also prevented him from filing civil actions alleging constitutional deprivations while he was held at Cook County Jail. The transfer occurred on October 2, 1991 and the requests for defendants’ assistance occurred in October and November of that year. Presently pending is defendants’ motion for summary judgment.

On a motion for summary judgment, the entire record is considered with all reasonable inferences drawn in favor of the non-movant and all factual disputes resolved in favor of the nonmovant. Oxman v. WLSTV, 846 F.2d 448, 452 (7th Cir.1988); Jakubiec v. Cities Service Co., 844 F.2d 470, 471 (7th Cir.1988). The burden of establishing a lack of any genuine issue of material fact rests on the movants. Id. at 473. The non-movant, however, must make a showing sufficient to establish any essential element for which he will bear the burden of proof at trial. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2552, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). The movants need not provide affidavits or deposition testimony showing the nonexistence of such essential elements. Id. at 324, 106 S.Ct. at 2553. Also, it is not sufficient to show evidence of purportedly disputed facts if those facts are not plausible in light of the entire record. See Covalt v. Carey Canada, Inc., 950 F.2d 481, 485 (7th Cir.1991); Collins v. Associated Pathologists, Ltd., 844 F.2d 473, 476-77 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 852, 109 S.Ct. 137, 102 L.Ed.2d 110 (1988). As the Seventh Circuit has summarized:

The moving party bears the initial burden of directing the district court to the determinative issues and the available evidence that pertains to each. “[A] party seeking summary judgment always bears the initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of ‘the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any’ which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 2553, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); id. at 325, 106 S.Ct. at 2554 (“the burden on the moving party may be discharged by ‘showing’— that is, pointing out to the district court— that there is an absence of evidence to support the nonmoving party’s case”). Then, with respect to issues that the non-moving party will bear the burden of proving at trial, the non-moving party must come forward with affidavits, depositions, answers to interrogatories or admissions and designate specific facts which establish that there is a genuine issue for trial. Id. at 324, 106 S.Ct. at 2553. The non-moving party cannot rest on the pleadings alone, but must designate specific facts in affidavits, depositions, answers to interrogatories or admissions that establish that there is a genuine triable issue. Id. The non-moving party “must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts.” Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 1356, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). “The mere existence of a scintilla of evidence in support of the [non-moving party’s] position will be insufficient; there must be evidence on which the jury could reasonably find for the [non-moving party].” Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 252, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 2512, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986).

Selan v. Kiley, 969 F.2d 560, 564 (7th Cir.1992).

When filing their motion for summary judgment, defendants informed pro se plaintiff of the procedures for summary judgment as is required under Seventh Circuit law. See Timms v. Frank, 953 F.2d 281, 285-86 [234]*234(7th Cir.), cert. denied, 504 U.S. 957, 112 S.Ct. 2307, 119 L.Ed.2d 228 (1992); Lewis v. Faulkner, 689 F.2d 100 (7th Cir.1982). Plaintiff complains that he is incapable of properly responding to a motion for summary judgment, but it has previously been determined that plaintiff is not entitled to the appointment of counsel. A “jailhouse lawyer,” however, has provided assistance to plaintiff and that person was permitted to file an “amicus” brief responding to the motion for summary judgment. Also, the court will consider the legal merits regardless of whether plaintiff makes an adequate legal argument; it is only expected that plaintiff will make an adequate presentation of the facts, something he is capable of doing even absent legal training.

Plaintiff also complains that he has not had access to copies of documents he previously filed with this court (Docket Item 11). They are primarily correspondence with defendants or other Cook County Jail personnel regarding the return of plaintiff’s documents. On the present summary judgment motion, defendants do not dispute that plaintiff lost legal documents, requested defendants’ assistance, or that they failed to find the documents for him. Defendants can be held liable for failing to take action after being informed legal documents had been taken. See Gentry v. Duckworth, 65 F.3d 555, 561 (7th Cir.1995); Brownlee v. Conine, 957 F.2d 353, 354 (7th Cir.1992); Banks, 1994 WL 186022 at *2. However, if at the time they were informed of the missing legal documents, they could no longer have done anything to successfully find the documents, they would not be responsible for the missing documents and there would be no basis for liability. These factual issues are not raised by the present motion. There is also no contention that intentionality is at issue.

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Bluebook (online)
914 F. Supp. 231, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19359, 1996 WL 3971, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/banks-v-sheahan-ilnd-1995.