(PC) Matthew A. Lawrie v. Christian Pfeiffer ( 2021 )

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 MATTHEW A. LAWRIE, 1:21-cv-00724 NONE-GSA-PC 12 ORDER ADDRESSING PLAINTIFF’S Plaintiff, MOTION TO AMEND 13 (ECF No. 15.) vs. 14 ORDER INFORMING PLAINTIFF HE CHRISTIAN PFEIFFER, HAS LEAVE TO AMEND THE 15 COMPLAINT ONCE AS A MATTER OF Defendant. COURSE 16 THIRTY DAY DEADLINE TO FILE 17 FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT 18 ORDER FOR CLERK TO SEND COMPLAINT FORM TO PLAINTIFF 19 20 21 22 23 I. BACKGROUND 24 Matthew A. Lawrie (“Plaintiff”) is a state prisoner proceeding pro se with this civil rights 25 action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. On April 22, 2021, Plaintiff filed the Complaint 26 commencing this action at the United States District Court for the Central District of California. 27 (ECF No. 1.) On April 30, 2021, the case was transferred to this court. (ECF No. 4.) 28 On June 5, 2017, Plaintiff filed a motion to amend the Complaint. (ECF No. 15.) 1 II. MOTION TO AMEND – FED. R. CIV. P. 15(a) 2 Plaintiff requests to “amend [the] complaint to add monetary damages. (Id. at 1.) 3 To add information or correct an error in the Complaint, Plaintiff must file a new First 4 Amended Complaint which is complete within itself. Plaintiff may file an amended complaint 5 at this stage of the proceedings without leave of court. Under Rule 15(a) of the Federal Rule of 6 Civil Procedure, a party may amend the party’s pleading once as a matter of course at any time 7 before a responsive pleading is served. Otherwise, a party may amend only by leave of the court 8 or by written consent of the adverse party, and leave shall be freely given when justice so requires. 9 Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a). Here, because Plaintiff has not previously amended the Complaint and no 10 responsive pleading has been served in this action, Plaintiff has leave to file an amended 11 complaint as a matter of course. Plaintiff shall be granted thirty days in which to file a First 12 Amended Complaint, making the needed changes. 13 Plaintiff must demonstrate in his amended complaint how the conditions complained of 14 have resulted in a deprivation of Plaintiff’s constitutional rights. See Ellis v. Cassidy, 625 F.2d 15 227 (9th Cir. 1980). The amended complaint must allege in specific terms how each named 16 defendant is involved. There can be no liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 unless there is some 17 affirmative link or connection between a defendant’s actions and the claimed deprivation. Rizzo 18 v. Goode, 423 U.S. 36 (1976); May v. Enomoto, 633 F.2d 164, 167 (9th Cir. 1980); Johnson v. 19 Duffy, 588 F.2d 740, 743 (9th Cir. 1978). 20 As a general rule, an amended complaint supersedes the original complaint. See Loux v. 21 Rhay, 375 F.2d 55, 57 (9th Cir. 1967). Once an amended complaint is filed, the original 22 complaint no longer serves any function in the case. Therefore, in an amended complaint, as in 23 an original complaint, each claim and the involvement of each defendant must be sufficiently 24 alleged. 25 Plaintiff should note that although he has the opportunity to amend, it is not for the 26 purpose of adding allegations of events occurring after April 22, 2021, the date the initial 27 Complaint was filed. Also, Plaintiff may not change the nature of this suit by adding new, 28 1 unrelated claims in his amended complaint. George v. Smith, 507 F.3d 605, 607 (7th Cir. 2007) 2 (no “buckshot” complaints). 3 The First Amended Complaint should be clearly and boldly titled “FIRST AMENDED 4 COMPLAINT,” refer to the appropriate case number, and be an original signed under penalty of 5 perjury. 6 III. CONCLUSION 7 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 8 1. Plaintiff’s motion to amend, filed on September 13, 2021, is RESOLVED; 9 2. Plaintiff has leave to amend the Complaint once as a matter of course; 10 3. Plaintiff is granted thirty (30) days from the date of service of this order in which 11 to file a First Amended Complaint as instructed by this order, using the court’s 12 form; 13 4. The First Amended Complaint should be clearly and boldly titled “First Amended 14 Complaint,” refer to case number 1:21-cv-00724-NONE-GSA-PC, and be an 15 original signed under penalty of perjury; 16 5. The Clerk of Court shall send one § 1983 civil rights complaint form to Plaintiff; 17 and 18 6. If Plaintiff does not file an amended complaint within thirty (30) days, this case 19 shall proceed with the original Complaint filed on April 22, 2021. 20 IT IS SO ORDERED. 21 22 Dated: September 15, 2021 /s/ Gary S. Austin UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 23 24 25 26 27 28