United States District Court, E.D. California
ORDER
DENYING PLAINTIFF'S REQUEST TO ADD EXHIBITS PIECEMEAL TO
COMPLAINT (ECF No. 7.) ORDER INFORMING PLAINTIFF SHE HAS
LEAVE TO AMEND THE COMPLAINT ONCE AS A MATTER OF COURSE AT
THIS STAGE OF THE PROCEEDINGS THIRTY-DAY DEADLINE TO FILE
FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT NOT EXCEEDING 26 PAGES ORDER FOR
CLERK TO SEND COMPLAINT FORM TO PLAINTIFF
GARY
S. AUSTIN UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE.
I.
BACKGROUND
Gigi
Fairchild-Littlefield (“Plaintiff”) is a state
prisoner proceeding pro se with this civil rights
action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. On November 5,
2019, Plaintiff filed the Complaint commencing this action.
(ECF No. 1.) On November 25, 2019, Plaintiff filed a request
for the court to accept five exhibits as part of the
Complaint. (ECF No. 7.)
II.
MOTION TO AMEND - FED. R. CIV. P. 15(a)
Plaintiff
has submitted five exhibits to the court, separate from the
Complaint, with a request for the court to accept the
exhibits as part of the Complaint. Plaintiff may not add
supporting exhibits in this manner. Under Rule 220, Plaintiff
may not amend the Complaint by adding exhibits submitted
separately from the Complaint.[1] To add information, or make a
correction to the Complaint, Plaintiff must file an amended
complaint which is complete in itself without reference to
prior complaints. To add her five exhibits Plaintiff must
file a First Amended Complaint, complete in itself, with the
five exhibits attached.
Plaintiff
explains that she submitted the exhibits separately from the
Complaint because they were not made available to her until
November 21, 2019, and could not have been included in the
initial e-filing because the Complaint would have exceeded
the twenty-five page limit allowed for the Complaint.
Plaintiff states that the five exhibits she submitted are
“essential to understanding” her claim. (ECF No.
7 at 1:14.)
Plaintiff
may file an amended complaint at this stage of the
proceedings without leave of court. Under Rule 15(a) of the
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure, a party may amend the
party's pleading once as a matter of course at any time
before a responsive pleading is served. Otherwise, a party
may amend only by leave of the court or by written consent of
the adverse party, and leave shall be freely given when
justice so requires. Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(a). Here, because
Plaintiff has not previously amended the Complaint and no
responsive pleading has been served in this action, Plaintiff
has leave to file an amended complaint as a matter of course.
Plaintiff shall be granted thirty days in which to file a
First Amended Complaint not exceeding 26 pages, including the
form complaint and any exhibits. Plaintiff's original
Complaint with its exhibits is twenty- one pages long, and
Plaintiff wishes to add five pages of exhibits. Thus,
twenty-six pages is sufficient for Plaintiff to set forth her
allegations and exhibits in support of her claims. The First
Amended Complaint is not required to be identical to the
original Complaint, but it should be materially the same and
should not include new unrelated claims. Plaintiff may not
change the nature of this suit by adding unrelated claims in
her amended complaint. George v. Smith, 507 F.3d
605, 607 (7th Cir. 2007) (no “buckshot”
complaints).
Plaintiff
must demonstrate in her amended complaint how the conditions
complained of have resulted in a deprivation of
Plaintiff's constitutional rights. See Ellis v.
Cassidy, 625 F.2d 227 (9th Cir. 1980). The amended
complaint must allege in specific terms how each named
defendant is involved. There can be no liability under 42
U.S.C. § 1983 unless there is some affirmative link or
connection between a defendant's actions and the claimed
deprivation. Rizzo v. Goode, 423 U.S. 36 (1976);
May v. Enomoto, 633 F.2d 164, 167 (9th Cir. 1980);
Johnson v. Duffy, 588 F.2d 740, 743 (9th Cir. 1978).
As a
general rule, an amended complaint supersedes the original
complaint. See Loux v. Rhay, 375 F.2d 55, 57 (9th
Cir. 1967). Once an amended complaint is filed, the original
complaint no longer serves any function in the case.
Therefore, in an amended complaint, as in an original
complaint, each claim and the involvement of each defendant
must be sufficiently alleged. Plaintiff should note that
although she has the opportunity to amend, it is not for the
purpose of adding allegations of events occurring after
November 5, 2019, the date the initial Complaint was filed.
The
First Amended Complaint should be clearly and boldly titled
“FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT, ” refer to the
appropriate case number, and be an original signed under
penalty of perjury.
III.
CONCLUSION
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
1. Plaintiff's motion to add exhibits to the Complaint,
filed on November 25, ...