Entry Concerning Selected Matters

TANYA WALTON PRATT, District Judge.

The court, having considered the above action and the matters which are pending, makes the following rulings:

1. The plaintiff is notified that Local Rule 7-1 requires that motions must be filed separately. Failure to follow this rule will lead to only the first motion identified being addressed by the Court.

2. The plaintiff's objection to the Pretrial Order of November 19, 2013 [dkt. 136] is overruled. The plaintiff continues to insist that his original complaint totaling more than 800 pages must be considered in its entirety as the operative pleading. But, the 800 page complaint violates the notice-pleading standard of Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which requires a complaint to contain "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." In addition, `[d]istrict courts should not have to read and decipher tomes disguised as pleadings.' Lindell v. Houser, 442 F.3d 1033, 1035 n.1 (7th Cir. 2006). The Pretrial Order of November 19, 2013, appropriately sets forth a short and plain statement of the remaining claims against each party. The plaintiff has not identified any claim that has been overlooked and no relief is warranted.

3. The plaintiff's request for an informal conference to discuss the production of witness contact information [dkt. 137] is denied. The plaintiff states that he seeks "the last known addresses and telephone numbers of all the individuals listed on the list provided him on August 15, 2013." It is unclear which individuals Hankins seeks contact information for and from whom. Nor is there any indication that any of the defendants maintain or have access to the information sought. Under these circumstances, no conference call shall be scheduled at this time.

4. The plaintiff's motion for hearing to address deception, lies and criminal destruction of evidence by Johnson County Defendants and Williams, Barrett and Wilkowski [dkt. 140] is denied. The plaintiff does not provide any factual basis for his claims, nor is there any indication that a hearing is necessary to resolve any particular issue at this point in the litigation.

5. The Court notes its continuing efforts to recruit counsel to represent Hankins in this action.

IT IS SO ORDERED.