The opinion
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF INDIANA
SOUTH BEND DIVISION
DORRIS WILLIAM MERRIWEATHER,
Plaintiff,
v. CAUSE NO. 3:22-CV-95-DRL-MGG
DON PARKS et al.,
Defendants.
OPINION AND ORDER
Dorris William Merriweather, a prisoner without a lawyer, filed a complaint. ECF
2. “A document filed pro se is to be liberally construed, and a pro se complaint, however
inartfully pleaded, must be held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted
by lawyers.” Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94 (2007) (quotation marks and citations
omitted). Nevertheless, under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A, the court must review the merits of a
prisoner complaint and dismiss it if the action is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a
claim upon which relief may be granted, or seeks monetary relief against a defendant
who is immune from such relief.
Mr. Merriweather alleges that Don Parks is in charge of finances at Indiana State
Prison. On July 21, 2021, Mr. Parks, with the permission of Warden Ron Neal, allegedly
closed the Islamic community’s account and spent the money from that account on a
purchase. Religious Director David Liebel was allegedly Mr. Parks’ accomplice. Chaplin
Ann received notice from David Liebel that the funds would be spent, but she did not
notify any member of the Islamic community until after the fund had been “highjacked.”
ECF 2 at 2. It is unclear what the funds were used to purchase.
Mr. Merriweather cannot represent the interests of the prison’s Islamic community
or any other inmate. “A litigant may bring his own claims to federal court without
counsel, but not the claims of others. This is so because the competence of a layman is
clearly too limited to allow him to risk the rights of others.” Fymbo v. State Farm, 213 F.3d
1320, 1321 (10th Cir. 2000) (citations and quotation marks omitted). Though Mr.
Merriweather may represent himself, he can only proceed if he has standing.
Our cases have established that the ‘irreducible constitutional minimum’ of
standing consists of three elements. The plaintiff must have (1) suffered an
injury in fact, (2) that is fairly traceable to the challenged conduct of the
defendant, and (3) that is likely to be redressed by a favorable judicial
decision. The plaintiff, as the party invoking federal jurisdiction, bears the
burden of establishing these elements. Where, as here, a case is at the
pleading stage, the plaintiff must clearly allege facts demonstrating each
element.”
Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 578 U.S. 330, 338 (2016) (quotation marks, citations and ellipsis
omitted). “To establish injury in fact, a plaintiff must show that he or she suffered an
invasion of a legally protected interest that is concrete and particularized and actual or
imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical.” Id. at 339 (quotation marks and citations
omitted). “[T]he plaintiff himself must have personally suffered an actual injury or an
imminent threat of injury.” Larkin v. Fin. Sys. of Green Bay, Inc., 982 F.3d 1060, 1064 (7th
Cir. 2020).
Here, the funds at issue did not belong to Mr. Merriweather; they belonged to the
Islamic community at the prison. It does not appear that Mr. Merriweather has a legally
protected interest in the funds. Nor does it appear that he has personally suffered an
actual injury because the funds of the Islamic community were spent on an unidentified
purchase.
Because Mr. Merriweather has not pleaded facts that demonstrate he has standing,
his complaint does not state a claim. In the interests of justice, Mr. Merriweather may file
an amended complaint if he believes he can state a claim based on (and consistent with)
the events described in this complaint because “[t]he usual standard in civil cases is to
allow defective pleadings to be corrected, especially in early stages, at least where
amendment would not be futile.” Abu-Shawish v. United States, 898 F.3d 726, 738 (7th Cir.
2018). To file an amended complaint, he needs to write this cause number on a Pro Se 14
(INND Rev. 2/20) Prisoner Complaint form, which is available from his law library. After
he properly completes that form addressing the issues raised in this order, he needs to
send it to the court.
For these reasons, the court:
(1) GRANTS Dorris William Merriweather until June 17, 2022, to file an amended
complaint; and
(2) CAUTIONS Dorris William Merriweather if he does not respond by the
deadline, this case will be dismissed under 28 U.S.C. § 1915A without further notice
because the current complaint does not state a claim for which relief can be granted.
SO ORDERED.
May 16, 2022 s/ Damon R. Leichty
Judge, United States District Court