Engel v. ERDCC et al

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION
JOSEPH MICHAEL DEVON ENGEL, )
)
Plaintiff, )
)
v. ) Case No. 4:20-cv-01938-MTS
)
ERDCC, et al., )
)
Defendants. )
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court on review of Plaintiff’s post-judgment motion to reopen.*
Doc. [16]. Plaintiff is a prisoner who is subject to § 1915(g), and who previously “knowingly and
persistently engaged in litigation practices that amount[ed] to abuse of the judicial process.” Engel
v. Jefferson County Sheriff Dep’t. No. 4:21-cv-00896-SEP, 2021 WL 4133791, at *3 (E.D. Mo.
Sept. 10, 2021). In the instant motion, Plaintiff complains that when he was incarcerated at Eastern
Reception Diagnostic Correctional Center (ERDCC) in August of 2021, he was denied medical
care by unnamed persons for back pain and “low blood sugars.” Id. at 1. He seeks to reopen the
present action to pursue his past claims. Plaintiff also seeks appointment of counsel, waiver of his
overdue court fees and copies of his medical records. Id. at 1-2.
Plaintiff’s motion is frivolous, and it is consistent with his prior pattern of abusive litigation
before this Court. The Court will therefore deny the motion and direct the Clerk to return any
future documents to Plaintiff unfiled.
Accordingly,
* This action was dismissed on March 23, 2021, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B). On August 27, 2021, the
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Plaintiff’s appeal for failure to pay the filing fee or demonstrate eligibility
to proceed in forma pauperis under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g). Engel v. ERDCC, et al., No. 21-2076 (8th Cir. 2021).
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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff’s motion, Doc. [16], is DENIED.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, should Plaintiff submit any additional documents in
this closed matter, the Clerk of Court is respectfully directed to return them to Plaintiff unfiled.
Dated this 8th day of January 2026.
MATTHEW T. SCHELP
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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