Tyrone Hurt v. Ferguson, Missouri, No. 15-2814 (7th Cir. 2016)

 Annotate this Case
Download PDF
NONPRECEDENTIAL DISPOSITION To be cited only in accordance with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit Chicago, Illinois 60604 Submitted January 19, 2016* Decided January 20, 2016 Before RICHARD A. POSNER, Circuit Judge FRANK H. EASTERBROOK, Circuit Judge DIANE S. SYKES, Circuit Judge No. 15 2814 TYRONE HURT, Plaintiff Appellant, v. FERGUSON, MISSOURI, et al., Defendants Appellees. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. No. 1:15 cv 01054 WTL TAB William T. Lawrence, Judge. O R D E R Tyrone Hurt, a resident of Washington, D.C., is a serial filer of frivolous and indecipherable lawsuits. In this latest illegible complaint, Hurt has sued a swath of defendants, including the cities of Ferguson, Missouri; Cleveland, Ohio; and Baltimore, Maryland; “forty seven (47) states”; the federal government; and “all law enforcement officials within this nation.” The district court screened Hurt’s complaint under 28 U.S.C. * The defendants were not served with process in the district court and are not participating in this appeal. After examining the appellant’s brief and the record, we have concluded that the case is appropriate for summary disposition. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). No. 15 2814 Page 2 § 1915(e)(2) and dismissed the case as frivolous. After noting that Hurt previously had filed eight other frivolous suits in the Southern District of Indiana and been warned that further frivolous filings risked sanctions, the court imposed a bar prohibiting Hurt from filing any new cases in the district without prepaying the filing fee. The district court noted that other courts had also imposed filing restrictions on Hurt. See, e.g., Hurt v. Soc. Sec. Admin., 544 F.3d 308, 311 (D.C. Cir. 2008); Hurt v. United States, 2013 WL 6489951 (D. Mass. Dec. 5, 2013). This appeal is frivolous. We agree with the district court’s dismissal in this case and think the imposition of sanctions against Hurt was proper. In addition to the eight frivolous lawsuits filed in the Southern District of Indiana, Hurt also has filed two suits in the Western District of Wisconsin and ten appeals to this court.1 We now order Hurt to show cause within 14 days why the court should not impose sanctions under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 38 for filing a frivolous appeal. Possible sanctions include revocation of Hurt’s IFP status, a fine, and an order under Support Sys. Int’l., Inc. v. Mack, 45 F.3d 185 (7th Cir. 1995), barring Hurt from filing any other litigation in this circuit until he has paid all the fees he owes to the district courts in this circuit and to us. AFFIRMED 1 See Hurt v. Germany, No. 1:15 cv 00939 JMS DKL (S.D. Ind. June 17, 2015); Hurt v. City of Chicago, No. 1:15 cv 00623 RLY DML (S.D. Ind. May 12, 2015), appeal dismissed No. 15 2487 (7th Cir. Oct. 29, 2015); Hurt v. U.S. House of Representatives, No. 1:14 cv 01847 JMS DKL (S.D. Ind. Jan. 27, 2015), appeal dismissed No. 15 1673 (7th Cir. Aug. 14, 2015); Hurt v. Tuskegee Airmen, No. 1:14 cv 01866 LJM TAB (S.D. Ind. Dec. 16, 2014); Hurt v. Soc. Sec. Admin., No. 1:14 cv 02015 WTL TAB (S.D. Ind. Dec. 11, 2014); Hurt v. Unknown, No. 1:14 cv 02016 TWP DKL (S.D. Ind. Dec. 11, 2014), appeals dismissed, Nos. 15 1707 (7th Cir. June 22, 2015), 15 2268 (7th Cir. Aug. 7, 2015); Hurt v. United States, No. 1:14 cv 01846 TWP DKL (S.D. Ind. Dec. 9, 2014), appeal dismissed, No. 15 1916 (7th Cir. Aug. 7, 2015); Hunt v. Hinson, No. 1:14 cv 01781 TWP TAB (S.D. Ind. Nov. 5, 2014), appeals dismissed Hurt v. Hinson, Nos. 14 3561 (7th Cir. Jan. 22, 2015), 15 1667 (7th Cir. June 22, 2015), 15 1668 (7th Cir. June 22, 2015) (docketed in the district court under the name “Tyrone Hunt”); Hurt v. D.C. Gov’t, No. 3:13 cv 00033 bbc (W.D. Wis. Feb. 15, 2013), summarily aff’d No. 13 1413 (7th Cir. Apr. 5, 2013); Hurt v. Paige, No. 3:12 cv 00939 bbc (W.D. Wis. Feb. 15, 2013), summarily aff’d No. 13 1412 (7th Cir. Apr. 5, 2013). Hurt’s frivolous filings are hardly limited to the Seventh Circuit. See Hurt v. Encinia, 2015 WL 6674820, at *3 (S.D. Tex. Oct. 30, 2015) (counting 468 civil actions filed by Hurt in district courts across the country since 1985).

Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.