Johnson v. Indiana Dept of Corrections

• Court: District Court, N.D. Indiana
• Decided: June 23, 2025
• Docket: 3:25-cv-00443
• Status: Unknown

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA SOUTH BEND DIVISION

CARL JOHNSON,

Plaintiff,

v. CAUSE NO. 3:25-CV-443-JTM-AZ

INDIANA DEPT. OF CORRECTIONS, COMMISSIONER, WARDEN, and ARAMARK,

Defendants.

OPINION and ORDER After his release, Carl Johnson, without a lawyer, filed a complaint in the Southern District of Indiana raising allegations about conditions which existed at the Westville Correctional Facility from June 18, 2023, to July 11, 2024. (DE # 1.) That court granted him leave to proceed in forma pauperis, but did not direct service on the defendants. (DE # 7.) Johnson moved for assistance with service. (DE # 8.) Under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(d), the court is required serve the defendants because he is proceeding in forma pauperis. The complaint lists six defendants, but two of them are not servable. (DE # 1.) Johnson sues “All WCF Officers” and “All Aramark Employees”, but “it is pointless to include lists of anonymous defendants in federal court; this type of placeholder does not open the door to relation back under Fed. R. Civ. P. 15, nor can it otherwise help the plaintiff.” Wudtke v. Davel, 128 F.3d 1057, 1060 (7th Cir. 1997) (citations omitted). Though it may be possible for Johnson to later identify who worked at Westville during the relevant dates and file an amended complaint, it is not possible at this juncture for the court to serve these unnamed defendants. Therefore, they will be dismissed and the other defendants will For these reasons, the court: (1) GRANTS the motion for service under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(d); (2) DISMISSES All WCF Officers and All Aramark Employees;

(3) DIRECTS the clerk, under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(d), to request Waiver of Service from (and if necessary, the United States Marshals Service to use any lawful means to locate and serve process on) the Indiana Department of Correction, the Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Correction, and the Warden of the Westville Correctional Facility at the Indiana Department of Correction, with a copy of this order and the complaint (DE # 1); (4) DIRECTS the clerk, under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(d), to request Waiver of Service from

(and if necessary, the United States Marshals Service to use any lawful means to locate and serve process on) Aramark at Aramark, with a copy of this order and the complaint (DE # 1); and (5) ORDERS, under 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(g)(2), the Indiana Department. of Correction, the Commissioner of the Indiana Department of Correction, the Warden of the Westville Correctional Facility, and Aramark to respond, as provided for in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and N.D. Ind. L.R. 10-1(b), only to the claims for

which the plaintiff has been granted leave to proceed in this screening order. SO ORDERED.

Date: June 23, 2025 s/James T. Moody . JUDGE JAMES T. MOODY UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT