OPINION AND ORDER JON E. DEGUILIO, District Judge. Defendant Vernado Malone pled guilty to two counts of a three-count Indictment: Count 1 (Wire Fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1343) and Count 3 (Aggravated Identity Theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1028A). On August 13, 2014, the Court held a change of plea hearing, at the conclusion of which the Court accepted Mr. Malone's pleas of guilty. Now before the Court are three motions: (1) a Motion to Withdraw the Guilty Pleas [DE 196], which...
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION ANDREW P. RODOVICH, Magistrate Judge. This matter is before the court sua sponte. For the following reasons, IT IS RECOMMENDED that this matter be DISMISSED. Background The plaintiff, Jessica Elizabeth Thomas, initiated this matter pro se on December 17, 2012. On October 9, 2014, this court issued a Notice of Pretrial Conference [DE 34] for a Rule 16 preliminary pretrial conference. Within the order, the court set a pretrial conference for November 14,...
FINDINGS, REPORT, AND RECOMMENDATION OF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE PURSUANT TO 28 U.S.C. 636(b)(1)(B) & (C) PAUL R. CHERRY, Magistrate Judge. This matter is before the Court on Defendant's Motion for Rule 11 Sanctions [DE 27], filed on October 16, 2014. This matter became fully briefed on November 7, 2014. On November 10, 2014, District Judge Joseph S. Van Bokkelen issued an Order [DE 35] referring this matter to the undersigned Magistrate Judge for a report and recommendation on this...
AMENDED OPINION AND ORDER PHILIP P. SIMON, Chief District Judge. West Lafayette Police Officer David Smith shot Brandon Winters in the neck while trying to arrest Winters for an attempted robbery in September 2009. Winters survived the shooting and filed this lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 alleging Smith and the City of West Lafayette violated his constitutional rights by using excessive force during the arrest. The Defendants have moved for summary judgment [DE 100], arguing that the...
OPINION AND ORDER WILLIAM C. LEE, District Judge. Before the Court is Defendant, William Hagler's ("Hagler" or "Defendant") "Motion under 28 U.S.C. 2255 to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct Sentence by a Person in Federal Custody" filed on November 25, 2013. [DE 303]. Although he filed his Petition over a year ago, Hagler did not supply any factual basis or legal grounds for his petition. Accordingly, the Court extended Hagler's time to file a supporting memorandum to his original petition. [DE...
OPINION AND ORDER JON E. DeGUILIO, District Judge. Pending before the Court are Defendants Brenda Sconiers, Thomas Dixon, and the St. Joseph County Superior Court's Motions to Dismiss [DE 5; DE 8; DE 10] Plaintiff Andrew U.D. Straw's complaint alleging violations of Title II and IV of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The motions were filed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, 12(b)(5) for insufficient service, and 12(b)(6) for...
OPINION AND ORDER PHILIP P. SIMON, District Judge. Wesley Alexander was a prisoner at the Westville Correctional Facility when he was found guilty by the Disciplinary Hearing Body (DHB) of Fleeing or Physically Resisting in violation of internal prison rules, and Alexander was docked 30 days earned credit time as a result. 1 Here's what happened according to the Conduct Report: "At Approximately 9:10 AM on the date of 7-30-12, I, Ofc. Halloran, was letting the E1W commissary line back on...
OPINION AND ORDER PHILIP P. SIMON, Chief District Judge. The government filed a motion in limine seeking to admit a hearsay statement at trial under the excited utterance exception to the rule against hearsay. (Docket Entry 1222.) Voir dire is set to begin on January 12, 2015, with the guilt phase of the capital trial to begin once the jury is selected. Juan Brise o is charged with committing six homicides in aid of the Imperial Gangsters racketeering enterprise. The 2010 murder of Miguel...
OPINION AND ORDER PHILIP P. SIMON, Chief District Judge. West Lafayette Police Officer David Smith shot Brandon Winters in the neck while trying to arrest Winters for an attempted robbery in September 2009. Winters survived the shooting and filed this lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. 1983 alleging Smith and the City of West Lafayette violated his constitutional rights by using excessive force during the arrest. The Defendants have moved for summary judgment [DE 100], arguing that the shooting was...
OPINION AND ORDER WILLIAM C. LEE, District Judge. This matter is before the court for judicial review of a final decision of the defendant Commissioner of Social Security Administration denying Plaintiff's application for Disability Insurance Benefits and Supplemental Security Income as provided for in the Social Security Act. 42 U.S.C. 401 et seq. Section 205(g) of the Act provides, inter alia, "[a]s part of his answer, the [Commissioner] shall file a certified copy of the transcript...
OPINION AND ORDER WILLIAM C. LEE, District Judge. This matter is before the court for judicial review of a final decision of the defendant Commissioner of Social Security Administration denying Plaintiff's application for Disability Insurance Benefits, Widow's Benefits, and Supplemental Security Income as provided for in the Social Security Act. 42 U.S.C. 401 et seq. Section 205(g) of the Act provides, inter alia, "[a]s part of his answer, the [Commissioner] shall file a certified copy...
OPINION AND ORDER WILLIAM C. LEE, District Judge. This matter is before the court on Appeal of Magistrate Judge's Decision, filed by the Plaintiff, Harold Pettit ("Pettit"), on September 4, 2014. The Defendant, United States of America ("Government"), filed a response on September 26, 2014, to which Pettit replied on October 2, 2014. Discussion Pettit has brought a Federal Tort Claims Act claim against the Government arising from Pettit's fall at the Jesse Brown Veterans Affairs Medical...
OPINION AND ORDER WILLIAM C. LEE, District Judge. This matter is before the court on a Report and Recommendation by Magistrate Judge Paul R. Cherry. For the following reasons, the Report and Recommendation will be ADOPTED. Discussion On October 7, 2014, Magistrate Judge Cherry issued his Report and Recommendation regarding Plaintiff's Motion for Sanctions [DE 30]. In this Report, Judge Cherry noted that the underlying discovery dispute was being resolved and thus drastic sanctions were not...
OPINION AND ORDER ROGER B. COSBEY, Magistrate Judge. Before the Court is a request by pro se Plaintiff Gregory Paul Bady in this 42 U.S.C. 1983 case advancing an equal protection claim under the Fourteenth Amendment, asking that this Court request an attorney to represent him. (Docket # 18.) Because Bady is competent to litigate this case himself, the motion will be DENIED. LEGAL STANDARD "There is no right to court-appointed counsel in federal civil litigation." Olson v. Morgan,...
OPINION AND ORDER PHILIP P. SIMON, Chief District Judge. Plaintiff Kunstmuseum Gehrke-Remund, GMBH ("KGR") and Defendants South Shore Arts, Inc. ("SSA") and Global Entertainment Properties 1 (GEP1) appeared before me for an evidentiary hearing on KGR's request for a temporary restraining order. (DE 5) Global Entertainment Properties 2 did not appear, and it is unclear whether they have yet been served. By way of background, KGR claims that it owns a collection of replica paintings, replica...
>OPINION AND ORDER ROGER B. COSBEY, Magistrate Judge. Plaintiff Jeffery Sneed appeals to the district court from a final decision of the Commissioner of Social Security ("Commissioner") denying his application under the Social Security Act (the "Act") for a period of disability and Disability Insurance Benefits ("DIB") and Supplemental Security Income ("SSI"). 1 ( See Docket # 1.) For the following reasons, the Commissioner's decision will be AFFIRMED. I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY Sneed applied...
OPINION AND ORDER ANDREW P. RODOVICH, Magistrate Judge. This matter is before the court on the Motion to Dismiss Counterclaim [DE 26] filed by the plaintiffs/counter-defendants, James Mitchell, Sr., Board of Trustees Chairman and Henry Sierra, Board of Trustees Secretary, on behalf of Northwest Indiana Painters Welfare Fund; et al., on November 17, 2014. For the following reasons, the Motion to Dismiss Counterclaim [DE 26] is GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Background On September...
OPINION AND ORDER RUDY LOZANO, District Judge. This matter is before the Court on the Motion for Modification of Conditions of Probation, filed by Defendant, Jeffrey P. Taylor, through counsel, on September 25, 2014 (DE #79). For the reasons set forth below, the motion (DE #79) is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART. THE TERMS OF CONDITION OF PROBATION SHALL BE MODIFIED AS SET FORTH IN THIS ORDER. BACKGROUND Taylor was convicted in cause number 2:06-CR-169, of attempting to violate 18...
FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATION OF THE MAGISTRATE JUDGE UPON A PLEA OF GUILTY ROGER B. COSBEY, Magistrate Judge. TO: THE HONORABLE THERESA L. SPRINGMANN, JUDGE, UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT Upon Defendant's request to enter a plea of guilty pursuant to Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, this matter came on for hearing before U.S. Magistrate Roger B. Cosbey, on December 2, 2014, with the written consents of the defendant, counsel for the defendant, and counsel for the United...
OPINION AND ORDER PAUL R. CHERRY, Magistrate Judge. This matter is before the Court on a Joint Motion to Consolidate 2:14-CV-456 with 2:14-CV-273 Pursuant to Local Rule 42-2 [DE 81], filed by the parties on December 17, 2014. The parties request that this matter be consolidated with Apex Colors Inc. v. Paul Bykowski, cause number 2:14-CV-456-JEM. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 42(a) provides that "[i]f actions before the court involve a common question of law or fact, the court may . . ....
