May v. Mahone

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May, an Illinois prisoner, filed a pro se suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983, claiming that prison physicians failed to provide adequate medical care for his non-Hodgkins lymphoma. The district court entered summary judgment for the defendants on February 11, 2015. A separate judgment was never entered on the docket, so May had 180 days to file a notice of appeal (150 days until the judgment was deemed entered plus 30 days) to file a timely appeal by August 10. A document from May, mailed on September 5, 2015, requested an update on his “appeal,” claiming that he had mailed a notice of appeal on February 18. He attached copies of the purported notice, his inmate Legal Mail Card, a request that the clerk transmit the record on appeal, and an application to proceed in forma pauperis. On October 20, the district court docketed a second notice of appeal from May, dated February 20. The defendants argued that May was litigating several cases and that May’s evidence did not substantiate his assertions. The Seventh Circuit remanded, concluding that it lacked sufficient information to resolve whether the prison mailbox rule applied. The Mail Card does not describe the item mailed and on February 23 the district court docketed an unrelated submission from May in another case. Resolution of this matter will involve issues of credibility. View "May v. Mahone" on Justia Law