WOOD

v.

FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

Before the Court is Plaintiff Duane Michael Wood's Complaint (Doc. 1). Wood is a pretrial detainee in Lee County Jail, and he sues a slew of entities and individuals under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. United States Magistrate Judge Kyle Dudek granted Wood leave to proceed in forma pauperis, so the Court must review the Complaint sua sponte to determine whether it is frivolous or malicious, fails to state a claim, or seeks monetary damages against a party who is immune from such relief. See 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2).

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure require a complaint to contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 8(a)(2). The rules also require plaintiffs to set out their claims in separate, numbered paragraphs, “each limited as far as practicable to a single set of circumstances.” Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 10(b).

"Complaints that violate either Rule 8(a)(2) or Rule 10(b), or both, are often disparagingly referred to as 'shotgun pleadings.'" Weiland v. Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, 792 F. 3d 1313, 1320 (11th Cir. 2015).

The main problem with shotgun pleadings is that they fail "to give the defendants adequate notice of the claims against them and the grounds upon which each claim rests.” Id. at 1323. But shotgun pleadings are not just unfair to defendants. Resolving claims asserted in shotgun pleadings is “an undue tax on the Court's resources.” Jackson v. Bank of Am., N.A., 898 F. 3d 1348, 1357 (11th Cir. 2018). “Tolerating such behavior constitutes toleration of obstruction of justice." Id.

This is an extreme case of shotgun pleading. Wood sues 33 government and private entities and individuals in Florida and Georgia based on vague, conclusory, and threadbare allegations. Wood claims he has “been hated, hurt, harmed, bullied, abused, harassed, neglected, malnourished, [and] abandoned because of perjury against [him] starting from a clerical error[.]” (Doc. 1 at 4). The complaint makes no allegations against any of the defendants. Wood's attempt to drag 33 defendants into federal court without making a good faith attempt to state a claim against them is an abuse of the judicial process.

Accordingly, it is

ORDERED:

1. Duane Michael Wood's Complaint (Doc. 1) is DISMISSED as malicious, frivolous, and an abuse of the judicial process under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g).

2. The Clerk is DIRECTED to enter judgment, terminate any pending motions and deadlines, and close this file.

DONE and ORDERED in Fort Myers, Florida on May 23, 2025.

/s/ Sheri Polster Chappel

SHERI POLSTER CHAPPEL

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

SA: FTMP-1 Copies: All Parties of Record