Brown

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

CENTRAL DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS

ARTHUR BROWN, )

)

Plaintiff, )

)

v. ) 25-cv-4233

)

KURT OSMUNDSON, et al. )

)

Defendants. )

SCHEDULING ORDER

Plaintiff, proceeding pro se, pursues this civil rights action. All

Defendants have been served, and there are no pending issues requiring

discussion. Accordingly, this case is ready for scheduling deadlines.

This case is entering the discovery phase, which means that each party

should be seeking admissible evidence to support the party's claims or

defenses. In general, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 26-37 govern discovery

between the parties. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 45 governs discovery from

nonparties.

Facilitating the discovery process in pro se cases can be difficult, and

this Order is being issued in an effort to help explain and streamline the

process for the parties to the extent possible. The parties should carefully read

this order, which contains important information on deadlines, discovery, and

the Court's procedures. Failure to follow the instructions in this order may

result in sanctions, including dismissal of this case.

IT IS ORDERED:

1. If not already filed, answers are due as specified in the Federal

Rules of Civil Procedure, unless otherwise directed by the Court or the Central

District’s Local Rules.

2. Amendments to a complaint are governed by Federal Rule of Civil

Procedure 15. Leave of Court is required to file an amended complaint more

than 21 days after an Answer or other responsive pleading is filed. Fed. R. Civ.

P. 15(a). If Plaintiff seeks to file an amended complaint, he must file a motion to

do so, attaching the proposed amended complaint. The proposed amended

complaint must stand complete on its own, including exhibits. The amended

complaint, if accepted, will replace the prior complaint in its entirety. Plaintiff

should explain in his motion for leave to file an amended complaint how the

amended complaint differs from the complaint on file. Any motions for leave to

amend the complaint shall be filed within 90 days of this Order.

3. The parties are reminded of their option to consent to proceed

before a U.S. Magistrate Judge. (See attached consent form). The Court

recommends serious consideration of this option. Given this Court’s heavy

docket and full calendar of hearings and trials, consent to a U.S. Magistrate

may result in a faster disposition and trial date than this Court can provide.

4. If exhaustion of administrative remedies is required under 42

U.S.C. Section 1997e(a) for Plaintiff’s claims, motions for summary judgment

on exhaustion are due within 30 days of this order. Discovery will not be stayed

unless Defendants file a motion to stay discovery.

5. Within 30 days of the entry of this order, Plaintiff shall provide the

following to Defendants' counsel, not to the Court:

A. The names of the persons with knowledge of the relevant

incidents whom Plaintiff may use to support his claims,

along with a short description of what each person knows;

B. Copies of documents Plaintiff possesses which Plaintiff may

use to support his claims;

C. Any information Plaintiff has to help identify the Doe

defendants, if Doe Defendants are named;

D. A statement of the injuries Plaintiff suffered and the relief

Plaintiff seeks.

6. Within 45 days of the entry of this order, Defendants shall provide

to Plaintiff, to the extent not already possessed by Plaintiff or provided to

Plaintiff:

A. The names and working addresses of the persons with

knowledge of the relevant incidents whom Defendants may

use to support their defense, along with a short description

of what each person knows;

B. Plaintiff's relevant medical records;

C. Plaintiff's relevant grievances and all responses to those

grievances;

D. Relevant incident reports and disciplinary committee

decisions;

E. The identity of any Doe defendants, if Doe defendants are

named. If Defendants are unable to ascertain the identity of

a Doe Defendant, Defendants shall produce to Plaintiff any

information relevant to assisting Plaintiff to identify the Doe

Defendant.

F. Copies of any other documents, whether paper or

electronically stored, which Defendants may use to support

their claims or defenses.

7. Within 10 days of receiving from Defendants' counsel an

authorization to release medical records that are relevant to Plaintiff's claims or

Defendants' defenses, Plaintiff is directed to sign and return the authorization

to Defendants' counsel.

8. The parties are under a continuing obligation to supplement or

correct the disclosures ordered above, as well as any discovery responses. Fed.

R. Civ. P. 26(c). This means the parties must update the information they have

provided as additional information becomes available.

9. If Plaintiff has named Doe defendants, Plaintiff must file a motion

to substitute the real name of any "Doe" defendant within 60 days of the entry

of this order or risk dismissal of the Doe defendant without prejudice unless

good cause for the failure can be shown.

10. If Plaintiff plans to use expert testimony, Plaintiff's expert

disclosures under Federal Rule Civil Procedure 26(a)(2) are due to Defendants

within 60 days of this order.

11. If Defendants plan to use expert testimony, Defendants' expert

disclosures under Federal Rule Civil Procedure 26(a)(2) are due to Plaintiff

within 90 days of this order. The disclosures are not filed in Court.

12. Plaintiff's indigency and detention may effectively limit Plaintiff's

discovery to written requests for information. Written discovery to Defendants

includes requests for the production of documents (Fed. R. Civ. P. 34),

interrogatories (Fed. R. Civ. P. 33), and requests for admission (Fed. R. Civ. P.

36). In general, the federal rules give 30 days for a party to respond to

discovery requests. Discovery requests and responses are not filed with the

Court, unless they are the subject of a motion to compel.

13. Fed. R. Civ. P. 33(a)(1) allows parties to serve no more than 25

written interrogatories, including subparts. Rule 26(b) provides that leave to

increase this number may be granted upon a showing of good cause.

14. Oral depositions are limited to the deposition of Plaintiff, subject to

a motion by Defendants to take additional depositions. If Defendants seek to

take additional depositions, they must arrange for Plaintiff to participate in the

deposition by phone or video, or to arrange for Plaintiff to participate through

written questions under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30(c)(3).

15. If a Defendant objects to a discovery request for security reasons or

for a reason listed under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(b)(1)(C), then the Defendant must

file a motion for a protective order under Rule 26(b)(1)(C) and/or a motion for

an in camera inspection. The motion is due within the deadline for responding

to the discovery request.

16. The parties are responsible for obtaining and serving their own

subpoenas to obtain information from nonparties. If Plaintiff seeks a subpoena,

Plaintiff must file a motion requesting the issuance of a subpoena. The motion

must set forth the addressee of the subpoena, the information Plaintiff seeks,

and a short description of the relevance of the information. Plaintiff is

responsible for serving the subpoena and complying with Federal Rule of Civil

Procedure 45. CDIL-LR 45.1; see also Ott v. City of Milwaukee, 682 F.3d 552,

557 (7th Cir. 2012)(subpoena seeking documents may be served by certified

mail).

17. Written discovery requests must be mailed to a party at least 30

days before the discovery deadline.

18. A party opposing a motion must timely file a response to the

motion. If no response is timely filed, the presiding judge will presume there is

no opposition to the motion. Replies to responses are not allowed without the

Court’s permission, unless the reply is filed after a response to a summary

judgment motion.

19. Discovery requests and responses are not filed with the court.

CDIL-LR 26.3(A). Plaintiff must mail his discovery requests directly to

Defendants' counsel and not file the requests with the Court or the Clerk.

Discovery requests sent to the Clerk or Court will be returned unfiled, unless

those requests are attached to and the subject of a motion to compel.

20. A motion to compel cannot be filed until after a party has failed to

adequately respond to a discovery request. Additionally, motions to compel

must be filed within 14 days of receiving an unsatisfactory response to a timely

discovery request. Motions to compel discovery must be accompanied by the

relevant portions of the discovery request and the response. The party filing the

motion must explain exactly what information he or she seeks and why the

response was inadequate. A motion to compel which does not contain this

information may be stricken.

21. If a motion to compel is granted, the Court may award the

reasonable expenses incurred in bringing the motion to compel if the party

filing the motion tried in good faith to obtain the discovery without the Court’s

involvement and the objection to disclosure was not substantially justified.

22. Plaintiff is advised that the costs of litigation, including discovery,

are not paid by the Court, even though Plaintiff is proceeding in forma

pauperis. The in forma pauperis statute does not allow the Court to waive or

pay other expenses of litigation.

23. Plaintiff is not entitled to a free transcript of his deposition.

However, Defendants must attach Plaintiff's entire deposition transcript to a

summary judgment motion if Defendants rely on Plaintiff's deposition

testimony in their motion.

24. A final pretrial conference and trial will be scheduled if necessary

after the Court rules on motions for summary judgment.

25. If a party seeks action by the Court, a filing should be titled as a

motion stating the specific action the party seeks. Every filing must have the

case name and number on the first page. In general, only motions and

responses to motions should be filed, unless otherwise directed by the Court.

Replies to responses are not allowed without the Court’s permission unless the

reply is filed after a response to a summary judgment motion. CDIL-LR

7.1(B)(3); 7.1(D)(3). Random exhibits and letters will not show as pending on

the Court's docket and will not be considered by the Court. Repetitive or

duplicate motions will be stricken.

26. Plaintiff is advised not to send originals of any document to the

Clerk or Court because after the Clerk scans a document into the electronic

filing system, the document is destroyed.

27. If Plaintiff is detained or incarcerated in a facility equipped with

electronic filing capability, Plaintiff must file documents with the Clerk

electronically.

28. Plaintiff is responsible for making and keeping his own copies of

filings. If Plaintiff seeks a copy of a filing from the Clerk, Plaintiff must identify

the filing and pay 50 cents per page for the copy, up front.

29. Plaintiff must keep the Clerk informed in writing of Plaintiff's

current address and, if released from detention, Plaintiff's phone number.

Failure to do so will result in dismissal of this case, with prejudice.

30. Discovery closes December 10, 2026.

31. Summary judgment motions are due January 11, 2027. A

summary judgment motion by Defendants which relies on Plaintiff’s deposition

or medical records must attach the complete copy of the deposition and the

complete medical records for the relevant time period. If no response to the

summary judgment motion is filed, the motion will be considered uncontested.

The response to a summary judgment motion must be supported with more

than just the allegations made in the complaint. The response must be

supported with evidence, which may include: affidavits made on personal

knowledge; documents in the record; and information provided during

discovery. The response must address each proposed undisputed fact and state

whether Plaintiff agrees or disagrees with the proposed fact. If Plaintiff

disagrees with the proposed fact, Plaintiff must explain why and attach

evidence to support Plaintiff’s version. Replies to responses to summary

judgment motions are allowed but must be limited to addressing new matters

raised in the response and not restating arguments already raised in the

motion for summary judgment. CDIL-LR 7.1(D)(3). After a reply is filed, the

briefing on the summary judgment motion is closed. A response to a reply is

generally not permitted.

ENTERED: June 10, 2026.

s/Jonathan E Hawley

JONATHAN E. HAWLEY

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE