Funches v. Hermeyer

District Court, N.D. Illinois·Decided August 21, 2024·No. 3:20-cv-50088·Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION PEREZ C. FUNCHES, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) No. 3:20 C 50088 ) JASON HERMEYER and ) Judge Rebecca R. Pallmeyer CHRISTOPHER MELVIN, ) ) Defendants. )

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

In February 2020, after he was released from Dixon Correctional Center, Plaintiff Perez Funches brought this suit against more than a dozen individuals for constitutional violations that he alleges occurred during his incarceration. Judge Reinhard of this court dismissed a number of claims and defendants at initial screening. (Order [32] at 5.) What is left of the case are two claims against two Defendants: a First Amendment retaliation claim against Defendants Jason Hermeyer and Christopher Melvin, and an Eighth Amendment sexual assault claim against Hermeyer alone. Defendants now move for summary judgment [89]. For the reasons explained below, the motion is granted. BACKGROUND I. Local Rule 56.1 The court notes, first, Plaintiff Funches’s noncompliance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56 and Local Rule 56.1. Local Rule 56.1 requires that the party moving for summary judgment file “a supporting memorandum of law” and “a statement of material facts” that attaches any cited evidentiary material. N.D. ILL. L.R. 56.1(a)(1)–(2). The nonmovant may then respond by filing his own memorandum of law and his own statement of facts that admits or disputes the facts asserted by the moving party. N.D. ILL. L.R. 56.1(b)(2), (e)(1)–(2). Consistent with these rules, Defendants filed, along with their motion for summary judgment, a supporting memorandum of law [91] and a statement of undisputed material facts [90]. Defendants also served on Funches a Local Rule 56.2 Notice [93], explaining the requirements for a pro se litigant opposing summary judgment. See N.D. ILL. L.R. 56.2. Despite that Notice and several extensions of time to respond, Funches has never filed either a responsive memorandum of law or a responsive statement of facts.1 His failure to follow the Local Rules “has consequences.” Daniels v. Janca, No. 17 C 906, 2019 WL 2772525, at *1 (N.D. Ill. July 2, 2019). Specifically, Funches’s non-response to Defendants’ statement of facts means that those statements “may be deemed admitted.” N.D. ILL. L.R. 56.1(e)(3). In other words, the court has the discretion to accept as true the facts set forth in Defendants’ statement to the extent those facts are “supported by admissible and docketed evidence.” Daniels, 2019 WL 2772525, at *2 (quoting Kreg Therapeutics, Inc. v. VitalGo, Inc., 919 F.3d 405, 411 (7th Cir. 2019) (court may accept movant’s statement of facts as undisputed where nonmovant fails to comply with Local Rule)); see also Zoretic v. Darge, 832 F.3d 639, 641 (7th Cir. 2016) (“[D]istrict courts are [not] obliged in our adversary system to scour the record looking for factual disputes.” (quoting Greer v. Bd. of Educ., 267 F.3d 723, 727 (7th Cir. 2001))); Stevo v. Frasor, 662 F.3d 880, 886–87 (7th Cir. 2011) (“[W]hether to apply the [local] rule strictly or to overlook any transgression is one left to the district court’s discretion.” (quoting Little v. Cox’s Supermarkets, 71 F.3d 637, 641 (7th Cir. 1995))); Shaffer v. Am. Med. Ass’n, 662 F.3d 439, 442 (7th Cir. 2011) (facts not contained in Rule 56.1 statements may be disregarded). Similarly, Funches’s failure to file a responsive memorandum of law means that he has waived any counterarguments he might have

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