<p>IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
VALDOSTA DIVISION
KENNETH JOHNSON, ET AL.
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Plaintiffs,
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v.
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CIVIL ACTION
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NO.: 7:16-cv-00141-WLS
BRIAN BELL, ET AL.
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Defendants.
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SPECIAL APPEARANCE OPPOSITION TO PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR
EXTENSION OF TIME TO COMPLETE AND PERFECT SERVICE OF PROCESS BY
DEFENDANTS WILLIAM “WES” TAYLOR, THE LOWNDES COUNTY SCHOOL
DISTRICT, FRED WETHERINGTON, AND JAY FLOYD
COME NOW Defendants William “Wes” Taylor (“Taylor”), the Lowndes County
School District (the “School District”), Fred Wetherington (“Wetherington”), and Jay Floyd
(“Floyd”) (collectively “these defendants”), by way of special appearance and without waiving
and specifically reserving all defenses available to them, and file their response in opposition to
Plaintiffs’ Motion for Extension of Time to Complete and Perfect Service of Process (Doc. 42)
(“Motion for Extension”), showing the Court as follows:
I.
INTRODUCTION
Plaintiffs filed the present lawsuit on August 17, 2016, asserting an assortment of claims
arising from the death of Kendrick Lamar Johnson.
(Doc. 1.) As plaintiffs alleged in their
complaint, “[t]his action is based upon substantially the same cause of action as asserted in and
brought by plaintiffs in the Superior Court of Lowndes County, Georgia, Case Numbers 2013
CV 1230, 2014 CV 997, 2014 CV 1592, and 2015 CV 706, and therefore is the result, at last as
to some actions contained herein, of plaintiffs’ voluntary dismissals as set forth and pursuant to
Case 7:16-cv-00141-WLS Document 47 Filed 11/22/16 Page 1 of 8
- 2 -
O.C.G.A. §§ 9-11-41 and 9-2-63.”
(Doc. 1, p. 3.) The Middle District of Georgia is well
familiar with plaintiffs and their claims, as “2014 CV 997” and “2014 CV 1592” were previously
removed to the Court and were before the Honorable Judge Hugh Lawson, until he ordered that
the cases be remanded after plaintiffs dismissed their federal claims. See Johnson, et al. v.
Lowndes County Board of Education, et al., Civil Action No. 7:14-cv-157-HL and Joh