Howard v. Deazevedo

Filing 37

ORDER Denying Plaintiff's Motion For Leave To File A Second Amended Complaint (Doc. 31 ), signed by Magistrate Judge Sheila K. Oberto on 1/29/2013. (Fahrney, E)

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1 2 3 4 5 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 6 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 7 8 TIMOTHY HOWARD, 9 Plaintiff, 10 11 CASE NO. 1:11-cv-00101-AWI-SKO PC ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE A SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT v. D. L. DeAZEVEDO, et al., 12 (Doc. 31) Defendants. / 13 14 Plaintiff Timothy Howard, a state prisoner proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis, filed this 15 civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 on January 20, 2011. On December 26, 2012, 16 Plaintiff filed a motion seeking leave to amend. Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a). Defendants did not file a 17 response. Local Rule 230(l). 18 Plaintiff amended once as a matter of course on August 17, 2011, and therefore, he may now 19 amend only with leave of court. Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(1), (2). While leave to amend should be freely 20 given when justice so requires, here no such showing has been made. Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2). 21 Plaintiff’s first ground for seeking leave to amend is to add facts. Plaintiff’s amended 22 complaint survived a motion to dismiss brought pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 12(b)(6), and it is not deficient with respect to Plaintiff’s present claims. 24 Plaintiff’s second ground for amendment is the deletion of issues pertaining to claims which 25 were dismissed, to avoid jury confusion. This is a non-issue, as Plaintiff’s claims will be framed for 26 the jury via evidence at trial, of which a copy of the pleading is not included; jury instructions; and 27 a verdict form. It is entirely unnecessary to amend to delete claims or parties in an effort to aid the 28 jury. 1 1 Finally, Plaintiff seeks to add a state law claim against Defendant DeAzevedo for violating 2 section 118.1 of the California Penal Code, which prohibits peace officers from filing false reports. 3 Plaintiff does not have a private right of action against Defendant DeAzevedo for violation of section 4 118.1 and allowing Plaintiff to amend to add the claim would be futile. Simpson v. Feltsen, No. 5 2:09-cv-00302-MSB, 2010 WL 1444487, at *6 (E.D.Cal. Apr. 9, 2010); Young v. City of Visalia, 6 687 F.Supp.2d 1155, 1167 (E.D.Cal. Jan. 15, 2010); Jackson v. City of Pittsburg, No. C 09-01016 7 WHA, 2009 WL 1684701, at *2 (N.D.Cal. Jun. 12, 2009); Lee v. Scribner, No. 1:05-cv-00802- 8 OWW-WMW (PC), 2009 WL 1211400, at *10 (E.D.Cal. May 1, 2009); Flowers v. County of 9 Fresno, No. CV F 09-0051 LJO GSA, 2009 WL 1034574, at *11 (E.D.Cal. Apr. 16, 2009). 10 For these reasons, Plaintiff’s motion for leave to amend is HEREBY DENIED. 11 12 IT IS SO ORDERED. 13 Dated: ie14hj January 29, 2013 /s/ Sheila K. Oberto UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 2

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