Opinion ID: 2817722
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Corrections Officer Defendants

Text: The district court dismissed Plaintiff’s claims against the ten Corrections Officer Defendants because Rule 20(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure precludes a plaintiff from joining unrelated claims against various defendants unless the claims arose out of the same transaction. We review a district court’s dismissal of a case for failure to comply with rules of the court, such as the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, for abuse of discretion. See Zocaras v. Castro, 465 F.3d 479, 483 (11th Cir. 2006). 9 Case: 14-14039 Date Filed: 07/16/2015 Page: 10 of 11 Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 18(a), a plaintiff may generally bring as many claims as he has against a single party. Fed.R.Civ.P. 18(a). But a plaintiff may join multiple defendants in a single action only if the right to relief asserted against them arises “out of the same transaction, occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences” and if “any question of law or fact common to all defendants will arise in the action.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 20(a). Here, the district court did not abuse its discretion when it dismissed Plaintiff’s complaint for noncompliance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 20(a). Plaintiff’s complaint alleged a variety of unrelated claims against different corrections officers, arising out of different events and occurring on different dates. For example, Plaintiff complained that Jenkins assaulted him on July 13, 2012; Tootle used her handcuffs to beat him on August 13, 2012; Bishop used excessive force on him on August 15, 2012; Dominguez locked him in the shower and then used pepper spray on his cell on August 17, 2012; Blakenly assaulted him with a pair of handcuffs on August 31, 2012; and, on November 6, 2012, Anderson attacked him without provocation while Moyett and Clemens failed to intervene on his behalf. Plaintiff has not refuted the district court’s apt observation that these various claims are not sufficiently related under Rule 20 to permit their joinder in a single complaint. Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s dismissal without prejudice of Plaintiff’s claims against the ten Corrections Officer Defendants. 10 Case: 14-14039 Date Filed: 07/16/2015 Page: 11 of 11