Charles Butler v. United States of America ( 2019 )

CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA CIVIL MINUTES - GENERAL Case No. CV 19-6536 FMO (JCx) Date August 14, 2019 Title Charles Butler, et al. v. United States of America, et al. Present: The Honorable Fernando M. Olguin, United States District Judge Vanessa Figueroa None None Deputy Clerk Court Reporter / Recorder Tape No. Attorney Present for Plaintiff(s): Attorney Present for Defendant(s): None Present None Present Proceedings: (In Chambers) Order to Show Cause The court is in receipt of Charles Butler and Ray Butler’s (“plaintiffs”) complaint. (See Dkt. 1, Complaint). However, the court notes that there is a problem with the complaint. Specifically, the complaint, which brings a cause of action under California law, (see id. at ¶¶ 65-76), does not set forth the basis of the court’s jurisdiction. (See, generally, id.). Local Rule 8-1 requires that “[t]he statutory or other basis for the exercise of jurisdiction by this Court shall be plainly stated in the first paragraph of any document invoking this Court’s jurisdiction.” See Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 511 U.S. 375, 377, 114 S.Ct. 1673, 1675 (1994) (“Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction. They possess only that power authorized by Constitution and statute[.]”). Accordingly, the court will order plaintiffs to file a first amended complaint which sets forth the basis of this court’s jurisdiction. Based on the foregoing, IT IS ORDERED THAT: 1. No later than August 27, 2019, plaintiffs shall file a First Amended Complaint which establishes the basis of this court’s jurisdiction. 2. The First Amended Complaint must be labeled “First Amended Complaint,” filed in compliance with Local Rule 3-2 and contain the case number assigned to the case, i.e., Case No. CV 19-6536 FMO (JCx). In addition, plaintiffs are informed that the court cannot refer to a prior pleading in order to make their First Amended Complaint complete. Local Rule 15-2 requires that an amended pleading be complete in and of itself without reference to any prior pleading. This is because, as a general rule, an amended pleading supersedes the original pleading. See Ramirez v. Cty. of San Bernardino, 806 F.3d 1002, 1008 (9th Cir. 2015) (“It is well-established in our circuit that an amended complaint supersedes the original, the latter being treated thereafter as non-existent. In other words, the original pleading no longer performs any function[.]’”) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). 3. Plaintiffs are cautioned that failure to timely file a First Amended Complaint may CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA CIVIL MINUTES - GENERAL Case No. CV 19-6536 FMO (JCx) Date August 14, 2019 Title Charles Butler, et al. v. United States of America, et al. 629-30, 82 S.Ct. 1386, 1388 (1962). 00 : 00 Initials of Preparer vdr