ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO DISMISS AND 1915A SCREENING KAREN E. SCHREIER , District Judge . Plaintiff, Vaughn Gary Maxfield, filed a pro se civil rights lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. 1983. Docket 1. This court granted Maxfield leave to proceed in forma pauperis (Docket 9) and he paid his initial filing fee on January 16, 2019. Maxfield amended his complaint (Docket 19) and later submitted a typed version of his amended complaint (Docket 25). 1 The court granted Maxfield's motion...
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION TO APPEAL WITHOUT PREPAYMENT OF FEES AS MOOT KAREN E. SCHREIER , District Judge . Plaintiff, Kevin Christopher Micheal Tripp, filed a pro se civil rights lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. 1983. Docket 1. Judgment was entered against Tripp and he filed a notice of appeal. Dockets 37 and 38. This court granted Tripp leave to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal. Docket 40. On October 5, 2018, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Tripp's appeal for failure to...
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF'S EMERGENCY MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION KAREN E. SCHREIER , District Judge . Plaintiff, Randy Cowherd, filed a pro se civil rights lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. 1983. Docket 12. This court screened Cowherd's complaint under 28 U.S.C. 1915A and directed service. Docket 7. Cowherd moves for an emergency preliminary injunction. Docket 6. "A preliminary injunction is an extraordinary remedy[.]" Roudachevski v. All-Am. Care Ctrs., Inc. , 648 F.3d 701 , 705 (8th...
ORDER GRANTING ANNIE ANTROBUS'S MOTION TO SET ASIDE ENTRY OF DEFAULT AND GRANTING HER MOTION TO DISMISS LAWRENCE L. PIERSOL , District Judge . Plaintiff, Winston Grey Brakeall, served defendant Annie Antrobus and she failed to timely answer. Doc. 47. Brakeall moved for entry of default and the Clerk of Courts entered default against Antrobus. Docs. 56, 58. Brakeall moved for default judgment against Antrobus. Doc. 69. The Clerk of Court denied Brakeall's motion for default judgment. Doc....
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT LAWRENCE L. PIERSOL , District Judge . Plaintiff, Winston Grey Brakeall, is an inmate at Mike Durfee State Prison (MDSP) in Springfield, South Dakota. Brakeall filed a pro se civil rights lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. 1983. Doc. 1. The Court screened Brakeall's original complaint under 28 U.S.C. 1915A, he then moved to amend and supplement his complaint. Docs. 12, 17, 19, and 20. This Court granted his motions to amend and screened his...
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT LAWRENCE L. PIERSOL , District Judge . Plaintiff, John David Abdo Jr., filed a pro se civil rights lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. 1983. Docs. 1, 38. Pending before the Court are Abdo's motions to appoint counsel, Docs. 41, 42, and defendants' unopposed motion for summary judgment, Doc. 45. I. Motion for Summary Judgment Based on the Merits and Qualified Immunity On, August 12, 2019, defendants moved for summary judgment based on the...
ORDER DISMISSING CASE KAREN E. SCHREIER , District Judge . Petitioner, Louis Anthony Winters, Jr., an inmate at the Sandstone Federal Correctional Institution, moves to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence. The motion is dismissed. PROCEDURAL HISTORY Winters pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2) and one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance in violation of 21 U.S.C. 841(b)(1)...
ORDER JEFFREY L. VIKEN , District Judge . INTRODUCTION Plaintiffs Equity Partners HG, LLC and Heritage Global Partners, Inc., brought this diversity action against defendants Samson, Inc., Black Earth, LLC and Kenneth Price ("defendant Price") centered on a contract between plaintiffs, Samson and Black Earth. 1 (Docket 1). Plaintiffs allege Samson and Black Earth breached the contract and were thereby unjustly enriched. Id. Plaintiffs further allege defendant Price tortiously...
JUDGMENT VERONICA L. DUFFY , Magistrate Judge . In accordance with the order for remand filed this date, IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that the Commissioner's decision is reversed under sentence four of 42 U.S.C. 405(g) and the case is remanded to the Commissioner for further administrative proeeedings.
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER VERONICA L. DUFFY , Magistrate Judge . INTRODUCTION Plaintiff, Lori Jean French, seeks judicial review of the Commissioner's final decision denying her application for social security disability benefits under Title II of the Social Security Act. 1 Ms. French has filed a complaint and has moved the court to reverse the Commissioner's final decision denying her disability benefits and to remand the matter to the Social Security Administration for an award of...
ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO FILE DOCUMENTS UNDER SEAL FOR IN CAMERA INSPECTION KAREN E. SCHREIER , District Judge . Defendants, Steve Baker, Derrik Bieber, Jennifer Drieske, Tammi Mertens-Jones, Linda Miller-Hunhoff, Jordan Storevik, Elizabeth Effling, Darin Young, Robert Dooley, Jennifer Stanwick-Klimek, and Dennis Kaemingk, move to seal copies of the magazines at issue in plaintiff's lawsuit. Docket 226. Defendants state that the magazines were rejected and not delivered to plaintiff...
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO FILE ELECTRONICALLY KAREN E. SCHREIER , District Judge . Defendant, Holli Lundahl, appearing pro se, moves for permission to submit electronic filings in the Case Management/Electronic Case Filing (CM/ECF) system. Docket 24. Under this court's local rules, "[d]ocuments filed by . . . pro se parties are filed by delivering the original to the clerk within 14 days after service on the opposing party or parties." D.S.D. Crim. LR 49.1(B)(2)(b). Lundahl's motion...
ORDER JEFFREY L. VIKEN , District Judge . Plaintiffs, acting through counsel, brought this medical malpractice action on behalf of their minor child, H.C.N., "and on behalf of themselves as individuals[.]" (Docket 24 at 2-3). The court permitted plaintiffs' counsel to withdraw and plaintiffs informed the court they intend to proceed pro se. (Dockets 88 & 89). "While federal law provides that parties may plead and conduct their own cases personally, 28 U.S.C. 1654, this right does...
ORDER JEFFREY L. VIKEN , District Judge . INTRODUCTION Plaintiff Clayton Walker, appearing pro se, brought this action under 42 U.S.C. 1983 alleging defendants violated his constitutional rights during a July 9, 2015, arrest. (Docket 1). The court referred this case to United States Magistrate Judge Daneta Wollmann for resolution of pretrial motions. (Docket 69). The magistrate judge issued an order resolving several pretrial motions and staying discovery to allow for a determination...
ORDER JEFFREY L. VIKEN , District Judge . INTRODUCTION Plaintiff Robert Gray filed a complaint against defendant MacArthur Company seeking recovery for plaintiff's injuries suffered when a roll of rubber roofing materials broke loose and injured plaintiff. At the time plaintiff was injured, the rolls were being unloaded from plaintiff's flatbed trailer by defendant's employees. (Docket 1). Defendant filed an amended answer denying the allegations in plaintiff's complaint. (Docket 26)....
ORDER GRANTING AND DENYING DEFENDANTS' MOTIONS FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT KAREN E. SCHREIER , District Judge . Plaintiff, Robert Blazer, a former pretrial detainee at the Walworth County Jail, filed suit against Keith Gall, the Corson County Sheriff; Josh Boll, the Walworth County Sheriff; Alan D. Dale, Justin Tvedt, and Mike Varilek, Corson County deputies; Kylee Franklin, Kimberly Longbrake, Justin Jungwirth, Marissa Mickelson, Heather Kroonje, Patty Dunwoody, Jeremy Johnson, Lance Schnaible,...
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO LIMIT CASE TO ERISA ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD Lawrence L. Piersol , United States District Judge . Plaintiff, James Johnson ("Johnson"), filed a complaint against defendant Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield of South Dakota ("Wellmark") challenging Wellmark's denial of benefits under an employer-sponsored health insurance plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ("ERISA"). Pending...
ORDER GRANTING FEDERAL DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO DISMISS AND GRANTING DEFENDANT CRAIG STEINLEY'S MOTION TO DISMISS LAWRENCE L. PIERSOL , District Judge . Plaintiff, Holli Lundahl, filed a pro se civil rights lawsuit claiming violations of: (1) the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, (2) section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, (3) 42 U.S.C. 1983, alleging violations of the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause, (4) Ex parte Young ; and (5) the Fair Housing Act. Doc. 1 at 1....
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS LAWRENCE L. PIERSOL , District Judge . Pending before the Court is a Motion to Dismiss filed by defendants, Smith & Loveless, Inc. ("Smith & Loveless") and MNX, Inc. ("MNX") (collectively "the Defendants"), for lack of personal jurisdiction and improper venue pursuant to Rule 12(b)(2), (3) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, and a Motion, filed in the alternative, to Transfer the Case to the United States District Court for the...
ORDER JEFFREY L. VIKEN , District Judge . INTRODUCTION United States Magistrate Judge Veronica L. Duffy filed a report and recommendation ("R&R"). (Docket 131). Both parties filed objections to the R&R. (Dockets 136 & 137). Both parties also filed responses to the opposing party's objections. (Dockets 143 & 144). For the reasons given below, defendants' objections are sustained in part and overruled in part and plaintiff's objections are sustained in part and overruled in part. The court...
