William L. Andrews, Jr. v. Dr. John Doe, Nurse John Doe 1, Nurse John Doe 2, and Nurse John Doe 3

Summary

The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin grants William L. Andrews, Jr.’s motion to proceed in forma pauperis and screens his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 complaint. The court allows Fourteenth Amendment claims to proceed against unidentified medical personnel based on alleged inadequate treatment of serious dental pain and adds Milwaukee County Sheriff Denita Ball solely to assist in identifying the John Doe defendants.

Holdings

1. The court granted Andrews leave to proceed without prepaying the full filing fee because he submitted the required certified trust-account statement and paid the assessed initial partial filing fee.
2. The complaint plausibly alleged a Fourteenth Amendment claim against Dr. John Doe and Nurses John Doe 1, 2, and 3 based on their alleged failure to adequately treat Andrews's complaints of severe tooth pain and related dental problems.
3. Sheriff Denita Ball was properly added solely to assist Andrews in identifying the John Doe defendants through limited discovery; she was not required to answer the complaint and was to be dismissed once the Doe defendants were identified.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Andrews qualified to proceed in forma pauperis after submitting the required prison trust-account information and paying the initial partial filing fee.
2. Whether the complaint plausibly alleged that the defendants violated the Fourteenth Amendment by responding objectively unreasonably to his serious dental condition.
3. Whether a county sheriff could be added for the limited purpose of helping a pro se prisoner identify John Doe defendants through restricted discovery.

Disposition

other