Gerald Jones v. Latoya Hughes, et al.

Summary

The court denied Plaintiff Gerald Jones’s motion to recuse and disqualify the judge, finding that his allegations of bias were unsupported and based primarily on adverse judicial rulings. Because Jones failed to file an amended complaint after his original complaint was stricken for improper joinder, the court dismissed the action without prejudice for failure to comply with a court order. The court also directed payment of the filing fee from Jones’s prison trust account and ordered the case closed.

Holdings

1. The plaintiff failed to establish either that the judge's impartiality might reasonably be questioned or that any of the specific grounds for recusal under 28 U.S.C. § 455(b) applied; the motion to recuse and disqualify was denied.
2. The action was dismissed without prejudice because the plaintiff failed to comply with the court's order granting leave to file an amended complaint, leaving the court without an operative complaint to screen.
3. The dismissal did not count as a strike under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), but the plaintiff remained obligated to pay the filing fee incurred when the action was filed, with collection from his prison trust account under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1).

Questions Presented

1. Whether the plaintiff established a statutory or objective basis for recusal or disqualification under 28 U.S.C. § 455.
2. Whether the action should be dismissed without prejudice when the plaintiff failed to file an amended complaint after the court struck the original complaint and granted leave to amend.
3. Whether dismissal counted as a strike under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g) and whether the plaintiff remained liable for the filing fee.

Disposition

dismissed