Gakuba v. Swells

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS PETER GAKUBA, #M52946 ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) vs. ) Case No. 3:20-cv-00277-SMY ) MATTHEW SWELLS , et al., ) ) Defendants. ) ORDER YANDLE, District Judge: This matter is before the Court on Plaintiff’s 3rd Motion to Compel Discovery and 4th Motion for Sanctions (Doc. 134). For the reasons stated below, the motions will be stricken as a sanction for violations of the Court’s April 20, 2022, May 5, 2022, and July 21, 2022 Orders (Docs. 89, 96, 112). Plaintiff was previously advised that he “must exhibit proper decorum, respect, and civility in his filings” and that “moving forward, should [he] file pleadings with irrelevant, inflammatory, insulting, and inappropriate commentary and/or raise frivolous issues, he will be subject to sanctions, up to and including monetary sanctions and a filing ban” (Doc. 89, p. 4). Despite this warning, Plaintiff continued to reference matters irrelevant to the claims asserted in this case, including his alleged wrongful conviction, and to proclaim his disdain for a “malfunctional justice system.” He also continued to lob personal attacks at the undersigned and the integrity of the judiciary. As a result, he was ordered “to refrain from filing any more pleadings containing gratuitous language that is insulting toward the court, other parties, or others,” and warned that in the future, any such filings would be stricken and returned to him” (Doc. 96, p. 5) (emphasis added). He was also specifically warned that if he continued “to repeat and reassert arguments that the Court has advised him are not relevant to the issues and claims in this lawsuit, he will face sanctions that include, but are not limited to, a monetary fine and/or a filing restriction.” (Id.). Despite the Court’s orders and repeated warnings, Plaintiff filed a motion to compel and motion for sanctions that violated the orders. As a result, the pleadings were stricken, and he was given a final warning in an attempt to curb his inappropriate conduct and filings (Doc. 112). In the motion now pending before the Court, Plaintiff once again flagrantly and deliberately violates the Court’s orders by incorporating irrelevant, inflammatory, insulting, and inappropriate commentary; he attacks Magistrate Judge Sison’s integrity (because he issued a ruling that Plaintiff disagrees with); and continues to complain about rulings in other cases that are irrelevant to the issues at hand. Enough is enough. Plaintiff’s persistent violations of the Court’s orders and his repeated attacks on the integrity of the judiciary will not be tolerated. His pattern of conduct demonstrates that he has no compunction for filing disrespectful pleadings and violating court orders. As such, sanctions are necessary to prevent the waste of limited judicial resources and additional harassing filings in this Court. ACCORDINGLY, Plaintiff’s 3rd Motion to Compel Discovery and 4th Motion for Sanctions are STRICKEN. Further, because discovery in this matter is closed, dispositive motions have been filed, and Plaintiff has flagrantly violated the Court’s orders in the filing of his motions to compel, any further motions to compel will summarily be stricken as a sanction. That said, to the extent there are any documents that Defendants have not yet provided to Gakuba due to disputes over the method of delivery, Defendants are ORDERED to print the documents and mail them to Gakuba within seven days. Going forward, should Plaintiff file additional pleadings containing irrelevant, inflammatory, insulting, and inappropriate commentary, raise frivolous issues, and/or otherwise violate the Court’s April 20, 2022, May 5, 2022, and July 21, 2022 orders (Docs. 89, 96, 112), he will be subject to further sanctions, up to and including monetary sanctions, filing restrictions, and/or a filing bar that would apply to all cases in this District. See, e.g., Reed v. PF of Milwaukee Midtown, LLC, 16 F.4th 1229, 1232 (7th Cir. 2021) (upholding a two‐year district‐wide filing bar). IT IS SO ORDERED. DATED: November 3, 2022 s/ Staci M. Yandle_____ STACI M. YANDLE United States District Judge