Christopher Stephen Jones v. Frank Strada, Shawn Phillips, Brett Cobble, Allan Lewis, Tim Mooneyham, Jessica Brown, and Zack Koczwara

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee denied Plaintiff Christopher Stephen Jones’s motion to revive Brian Cox as a party defendant and add a 42 U.S.C. § 1983 conspiracy claim. The court held that the motion was untimely and, alternatively, that the proffered evidence did not plausibly establish a conspiratorial agreement or constitutional violation. The court also certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied leave to appeal in forma pauperis.

Holdings

1. The motion was untimely and improper because Plaintiff filed it after the motions deadline and did not seek to reopen the deadline or show good cause.
2. Even if timely, the motion did not satisfy Rule 54(b)'s standard for reconsideration because the asserted new evidence did not justify reopening the prior order.
3. A § 1983 civil-conspiracy claim requires plausible allegations of a single plan, a shared conspiratorial objective to deprive the plaintiff of constitutional rights, and an overt act; vague and conclusory allegations unsupported by material facts are insufficient.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Plaintiff's motion to revive Brian Cox as a defendant and add a § 1983 conspiracy claim was timely under the case's scheduling order and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 6(b).
2. Whether the alleged new evidence satisfied the standard for reconsideration of an interlocutory order under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 54(b).
3. Whether the alleged communication between Cox and Plaintiff's supervisor plausibly established the elements of a § 1983 civil-conspiracy claim.

Disposition

denied