UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN 

SOUTHERN DIVISION 

TREMAIN JONES, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

LYNN PARRISH, ET AL., 

Defendants. 

 / 

 

Case No. 14-13153 

Honorable Linda V. Parker 

 

OPINION AND ORDER (1) GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN 

PART DEFENDANTS’ MOTIONS TO SEVER (ECF NOS. 13, 16 & 40); (2) 

DISMISSING WITHOUT PREJUDICE CERTAIN CLAIMS AND 

DEFENDANTS; AND (3) DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR A 

TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER AND A PERMANENT 

INJUNCITON (ECF NO. 17)

On August 14, 2014, Plaintiff Tremain Jones (“Plaintiff”) commenced this 

lawsuit against fifty-two defendants which include the Michigan Department of 

Corrections (“MDOC”) and MDOC employees working at four of the correctional 

facilities where Plaintiff has been incarcerated. In his Complaint, Plaintiff asserts 

twelve separate counts that claim violations of his federal constitutional rights, 

federal statutes, and state law. The matter has been assigned to Magistrate Judge 

Anthony P. Patti for all pretrial proceedings, including a hearing and determination 

of all non-dispositive matters pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1)(A) and/or a report 

and recommendation (“R&R”) on all dispositive matters pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 

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§ 636(b)(1)(B). 

On October 22, 2014, several defendants filed a motion to sever pursuant to 

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 20. (ECF No. 13.) Additional defendants filed 

similar motions on November 17, 2014 and June 26, 2015. (ECF Nos. 16, 40.) 

Plaintiff has filed a response to two of the motions. (ECF No. 24.) Plaintiff also 

filed a motion for a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) and a permanent 

injunction on November 24, 2014. (ECF No. 17.) That motion has been fully 

briefed, although Plaintiff’s reply brief was filed a month after it was due. (ECF 

Nos. 26, 30.) 

On August 12, 2015, Magistrate Judge Patti issued a R&R, recommending 

that the Court grant in part and deny in part the motions to sever. (ECF No. 41.) 

Magistrate Judge Patti concludes that Plaintiff has improperly joined counts in his 

Complaint which relate to an October 22, 2011 event while housed at the Bellamy 

Creek Correctional Facility with counts that arise from unrelated conduct that 

occurred at other MDOC facilities, involving defendants different from those 

individuals associated with the October 22 incident. Specifically, Magistrate Judge 

Patti recommends that the Court sever and dismiss without prejudice Counts Six, 

Seven, and Nine, in full, and Counts Eight, Ten, Eleven, and Twelve to the extent 

they do not relate to the events described in Counts One through Five of the 

Complaint. Magistrate Judge Patti further recommends that the action proceed 

against only MDOC and the defendants at the Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility. 

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On August 14, 2015, Magistrate Judge Patti issued a second R&R, 

recommending that the Court deny Plaintiff’s motion for a TRO and permanent 

injunction. (ECF No. 42.) Magistrate Judge Patti concludes that Plaintiff’s request 

is moot to the extent he seeks injunctive relief from prison facilities where he no 

longer is incarcerated or MDOC employees at those facilities. Magistrate Judge 

Patti also concludes that the factors relevant to decide whether a TRO and 

preliminary injunction should issue do not weigh in favor of an injunction. 

Assuming that the Court would accept his earlier R&R and sever Plaintiff’s claims 

related to the Bellamy Creek Correctional Facility from Plaintiff’s other claims, 

Magistrate Judge Patti further concludes that the issuance of an injunction at this 

stage will not “preserve the relative positions of the parties.” 

At the conclusion of both R&Rs, Magistrate Judge Patti advises the parties 

that they may object to and seek review of the R&R within fourteen days of service 

upon them. (ECF No. 41 at 13-14; ECF No. 42 at 20-21.) He further specifically 

advises the parties that “[f]ailure to file specific objections constitutes a waiver of 

any further right to appeal.” (Id.) According to certificates of service, copies of 

Magistrate Judge Patti’s R&Rs were mailed to Plaintiff at the Gus Harrison 

Correctional Facility in Adrian, Michigan, on the date the R&Rs were filed. 

Less than a week later, however, the Court received a notice from Plaintiff 

indicating that his address had changed as a result of his transfer to a different 

MDOC facility. (ECF No. 43.) The notice states that Plaintiff was transferred to 

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the Ojibway Correctional Facility in Marenisco, Michigan on August 14, 2015. 

(Id.) The notice is signed and dated on the same date as Plaintiff’s transfer. This 

Court, therefore, sent additional copies of Magistrate Judge Patti’s R&Rs to 

Plaintiff at his new address on September 3, 2015. On the same date, the Court 

also entered an order granting Plaintiff an additional fourteen days to file any 

objections that he may have to the R&Rs. (ECF No. 44.) Plaintiff’s objections, 

signed and dated August 20, 2015, were received by the Court on September 15, 

2015. (ECF No. 45.) 

In his objections, Plaintiff argues that he properly joined his claims against 

the various defendants because they “acted in concert” to intentionally injure him 

and continue to retaliate against him. (Id. at Pg ID 938.) Plaintiff’s Complaint, 

however, is devoid of any factual allegations suggesting that the varied 

Defendants-- employed by MDOC to work in different prison facilities-- conspired 

to violate Plaintiff’s rights. Plaintiff contends that Defendants continue to retaliate 

against him and “went out of their way to intentionally harm and injure” him. (Id. 

at Pg ID 938-39.) Even if true, this does not support the joinder of Plaintiff’s 

claims against Defendants. Plaintiff does not assert an objection to Magistrate 

Judge Patti’s analysis of his request for injunctive relief. 

The Court has carefully reviewed the R&R and concurs with the conclusions 

reached by Magistrate Judge Patti. The Court therefore rejects Plaintiff’s 

objections to the R&R and adopts Magistrate Judge Patti’s August 12 and 14, 2015 

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R&Rs (ECF Nos. 41, 42.) Consistent with Magistrate Judge Patti’s 

recommendation, the Court is: (1) granting Defendants’ motion to sever and 

dismissing without prejudice Plaintiff’s Counts Six, Seven, and Nine in full and 

Counts Eight and Ten through Twelve to the extent they do not relate to Counts 

One through Five; (2) dismissing all but the MDOC and Bellamy Creek 

Correctional Facility Defendants; (3) denying Defendants’ motion to sever to the 

extent they seek dismissal of Counts Eight and Ten through Twelve to the extent 

they do relate to Counts 1-5; and (3) denying Plaintiff’s motion for injunctive 

relief. 

Accordingly, 

IT IS ORDERED, that Defendants’ motions to sever (ECF Nos. 13, 16 & 

40) are GRANTED IN PART AND DENIED IN PART in that Counts Six, 

Seven, and Nine of Plaintiff’s Complaint are DISMISSED WITHOUT 

PREJUDICE and the following individuals are DISMISSED AS PARTIES to 

this action: 

Linda Beckwith Jay Bugbee Sherman Campbell 

K. Christiaens Mike Curley D. Evans 

Brian Evers E. Frye Randall Haas 

William Haddix R. Hall Shaheedah L. Hardwick 

Susan Havelka Robin Howard A. Jones 

Forest Williams G. King Paul D. Klee 

T. Long D. Maynard K. McConnell 

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Mark McCullick Lee McRoberts D. Messer 

Robert Nichols Mark Olsen Lloyd Rapelja 

Steve Rivard S. Robinson Kennth A. Romanowski 

D. Smith A. Spangler Darrell Steward 

Robert Stone S. Tolley Sara Stringer-Hill 

Lisa A. Walsh Wright Wade Kristine VanHaften 

 

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED, that Plaintiff’s motion for temporary 

restraining order and a permanent injunction (ECF No. 17) is DENIED. 

 s/ Linda V. Parker 

 LINDA V. PARKER 

 U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE 

Dated: September 25, 2015 

I hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing document was mailed to counsel of 

record and/or pro se parties on this date, September 25, 2015, by electronic and/or 

U.S. First Class mail. 

 s/ Richard Loury 

 Case Manager 

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