US District Court CDIL Docket Feed

Inmate Denied Leave to Amend Conditions-of-Confinement Claim

The United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois denied Plaintiff Benjamin Cortez Gomez's Motion for Leave to File an Amended Complaint, which sought to add two new defendants and renew an intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED) claim to his existing conditions-of-confinement lawsuit under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The Court found that proposed defendants Lieutenant L. Perkins and Corporal Memenga lacked personal involvement in constitutional violations—prison officials who merely process or review inmate grievances are not responsible for the underlying conduct—and that the renewed IIED claim would be futile because denying sunlight and fresh air does not constitute extreme and outrageous conduct under existing law.

Illinois Prisoner Wins First Amendment Retaliation, Due Process Claims After Merit Review

The United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois conducted a merit review under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A of pro se prisoner Edgar Diaz's complaint and found that he states plausible First Amendment retaliation claims against Defendants Cox, Swing, and Little and Fourteenth Amendment procedural due process claims against Defendants Phillips, Stuart, and Range, each in their individual capacities. Claims against Defendants Garza and Baker were dismissed for failure to state a viable claim and lack of personal involvement, respectively. Claims arising from events at Pontiac Correctional Center were dismissed without prejudice for improper joinder. The case is now proceeding to service, with defendants having 60 days from waiver of service to file an answer.

Prisoner Johnson Alleges Prison Medical Misdiagnosis, Delayed Cancer Treatment

Thomas Daniel Johnson, a federal prisoner proceeding pro se from Butner Low FCI, filed suit against Dr. Scott Moats, Dr. Jeffery Lee Ho, and RN J. Frank alleging Eighth Amendment deliberate-indifference claims under Bivens and Carlson v. Green, plus a medical negligence claim under the Federal Tort Claim Act. In June 2021 RN Frank misdiagnosed a cancerous lymph node growth as a femoral hernia; Dr. Moats falsely documented that he had examined Plaintiff rather than Frank. The complaint alleges that despite repeated requests over two years (2021-2023), Defendants took no action until September 19, 2024, when Plaintiff was diagnosed with stage IV lymphoma at Carle Health Pekin Hospital. The Court conducted mandatory screening under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, accepted the factual allegations as true, and allowed the case to proceed.