US District Court WDMI Docket Feed

Robinson v. Benoit - Summary Judgment on First Amendment Prisoner Claims

The US District Court for the Western District of Michigan granted summary judgment in favor of defendants Kristina Benoit, Jake Robinson (CO Robinson), and Erica Hershman in Case No. 2:24-cv-34, dismissing prisoner-plaintiff James Robinson's First Amendment claims. The court upheld the magistrate judge's recommendation to dismiss Robinson's access-to-the-courts claim as barred by the Preiser-Heck doctrine, which excludes from 42 U.S.C. § 1983 any claim whose success would necessarily imply the invalidity of a conviction. The court separately adjudicated and dismissed Robinson's legal-mail claim on its merits, finding no genuine dispute of material fact.

Gor Aghabekyan v. Christopher Knight - Default Judgment Denied for Lack of Personal Jurisdiction

The US District Court for the Western District of Michigan denied plaintiffs' motion for default judgment against defendant US Motors Corp. (USMC) on the ground that the Court lacks personal jurisdiction over USMC. The Court found that USMC is incorporated in and has its principal place of business in Wyoming, and plaintiffs failed to allege any minimum contacts between USMC and Michigan sufficient to support specific personal jurisdiction. The ruling clarifies that courts must independently verify personal jurisdiction before entering default judgments, and that defaulting defendants may avoid default judgment by demonstrating lack of jurisdiction even through the court's own inquiry.

Jerome Edwin Montgomery #204158 v. Margaret Ouellette

The United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan granted summary judgment in favor of defendant Margaret Ouellette in a prisoner civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. The court adopted the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation issued January 29, 2026, after no objections were filed by either party. The court also certified under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3) that an appeal would not be taken in good faith. Case No. 1:23-cv-523.