10-1619, 10-1627, 10-1629, 10-1640 & 10-1643 Hoskins v. Dart

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Civil Rights
Prisoner litigation

A fraudulent litigation history justifies dismissing a prisoner’s Section 1983 suits with prejudice.

“In general, courts may impose appropriate sanctions, including dismissal or default, against litigants who violate discovery rules and other rules and orders designed to enable judges to control their dockets and manage the flow of litigation. See, e.g., Wickens v. Shell Oil Co., 620 F.3d 747, 759 (7th Cir. 2010) (affirming district court’s discretionary decision to impose lesser sanction for failure to make disclosure under Fed. R. Civ. P. 26(a)(1)); In re Thomas Consolidated Industries, Inc., 456 F.3d 719, 724-25 (7th Cir. 2006) (affirming dismissal as discovery sanction); Newman v. Metropolitan Pier & Exposition Auth., 962 F.2d 589, 591 (7th Cir. 1992) (affirming dismissal as discovery sanction); Hindmon v. National-Ben Franklin Life Ins. Corp., 677 F.2d 617, 618 (7th Cir. 1982) (affirming dismissal and default as discovery sanction). Sanctions may include dismissing complaints containing fraudulent information. See Sloan v. Lesza, 181 F.3d 857, 858-59 (7th Cir. 1999) (dismissing appeal for deception about “striking out” under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g)); see also Ammons v. Gerlinger, 547 F.3d 724, 725 (7th Cir. 2008) (dismissing appeal for deception about financial status); Taylor v. Chicago Police Dept., 2008 WL 2477694, at *4 (N.D. Ill. June 18, 2008) (Dow, J.) (dismissing action in part for fraudulent omission of litigation history), aff’d, Taylor v. City of Chicago, 334 F. App’x 760 (7th Cir. June 23, 2009). Such sanctions are permissible in a case like this because a district court relies on a party’s description of his litigation history to manage its docket. Disclosure of a prisoner’s litigation history enables a court to adhere to the three-strike requirement of 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). See Sloan, 181 F.3d at 858-59 (describing need for reliable information about prior litigation).”

Affirmed.

10-1619, 10-1627, 10-1629, 10-1640 & 10-1643 Hoskins v. Dart

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Manning, J., Per Curiam.

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