Whitfield v. Hernandez et al

Filing 24

ORDER GRANTING 18 Plaintiff's Motion to Amend the Complaint, signed by Magistrate Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on 3/25/2014. (Hall, S)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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STEPHEN WHITFIELD,
Plaintiff,

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v.

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JOHN HERNANDEZ, et al.,
Defendants.

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Case No.: 1:13-cv-00724 - AWI - JLT
ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO
AMEND THE COMPLAINT
(Doc. 18)

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Plaintiff Stephen Whitfield seeks leave to file a Third Amended Complaint. (Doc. 18.)

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Defendants John Hernandez and Donnett Aguilera filed a statement of non-opposition to the motion on

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March 13, 2014. (Doc. 24.) Because the Court determined the matter is suitable for decision without

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oral argument, the motion was taken under submission pursuant to Local Rule 230(g). For the reasons

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set forth below, Plaintiff’s motion for leave to amend is GRANTED.

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I.

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Relevant Procedural History
Plaintiff initiated this action by filing a complaint for a violation of his civil rights pursuant to

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42 U.S.C. § 1983 on May 16, 2013. (Doc. 1.) The Court screened his complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C.

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§ 1915(a) because Plaintiff sought to proceed pro se and in forma pauperis. (Doc. 3.) After the Court

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dismissed his complaint with leave to amend, Plaintiff filed a First Amended Complaint on June 3,

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2013. (Doc. 4.) Although the Court dismissed the amended complaint, Plaintiff was given an

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opportunity to cure the deficiencies of the complaint. (Doc. 7.) Accordingly, Plaintiff filed his Second
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Amended Complaint on July 18, 2013. (Doc. 8.) The Court found Plaintiff stated cognizable claims

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for violations of the Fourth Amendment by Defendants in the Second Amended Complaint, and

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authorized service. (Doc. 9.) Defendants filed their answer to the complaint on November 14, 2013.

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(Doc. 12.)
On February 24, 2014, Plaintiff filed the motion now pending before the Court, seeking to file a

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Third Amended Complaint. (Docs. 18-19.) Plaintiff asserts the amendment is necessary “to include

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more causes of action and add a new defendant,” state parole agent Lisa Aceves. (Doc. 18 at 1.) On

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March 13, 2014, Defendants filed a statement of non-opposition to Plaintiff’s motion. (Doc. 20.)

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II.

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Legal Standards for Leave to Amend
Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a), a party may amend a pleading once as a matter of course within 21

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days of service, or if the pleading is one to which a response is required, 21 days after service of a

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motion under Rule 12(b), (e), or (f). “In all other cases, a party may amend its pleading only with the

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opposing party’s written consent or the court’s leave.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2). Here, Defendants filed

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their answer to the complaint on November 14, 2013. (Doc. 12.) Therefore, Plaintiff requires either

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consent of the defendants or leave of the Court to file an amended complaint.

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Granting or denying leave to amend a complaint is in the discretion of the Court, Swanson v.

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United States Forest Service, 87 F.3d 339, 343 (9th Cir. 1996), though leave should be “freely give[n]

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when justice so requires.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2). “In exercising this discretion, a court must be

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guided by the underlying purpose of Rule 15 to facilitate decision on the merits, rather than on the

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pleadings or technicalities.” United States v. Webb, 655 F.2d 977, 979 (9th Cir. 1981). Consequently,

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the policy to grant leave to amend is applied with extreme liberality. Id.

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There is no abuse of discretion “in denying a motion to amend where the movant presents no

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new facts but only new theories and provides no satisfactory explanation for his failure to fully develop

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his contentions originally.” Bonin v. Calderon, 59 F.3d 815, 845 (9th Cir. 1995); see also Allen v. City

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of Beverly Hills, 911 F.2d 367, 374 (9th Cir. 1990). After a defendant files an answer, leave to amend

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should not be granted where “amendment would cause prejudice to the opposing party, is sought in bad

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faith, is futile, or creates undue delay.” Madeja v. Olympic Packers, 310 F.3d 628, 636 (9th Cir. 2002)

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(citing Yakima Indian Nation v. Wash. Dep’t of Revenue, 176 F.3d 1241, 1246 (9th Cir. 1999)).
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III.

Discussion and Analysis

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In evaluating a motion to amend under Rule 15, the Court may consider (1) whether the plaintiff

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has previously amended his complaint, (2) undue delay, (3) bad faith, (4) futility of amendment, and (5)

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prejudice to the opposing party. Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182 (1962); Loehr v. Ventura County

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Community College Dist., 743 F.2d 1310, 1319 (9th Cir. 1984). These factors are not of equal weight

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as prejudice to the opposing party has long been held to be the most critical factor to determine whether

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to grant leave to amend. Eminence Capital, LLC v. Aspeon, Inc., 316 F.3d 1048, 1052 (9th Cir. 2003);

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Jackson v. Bank of Hawaii, 902 F.2d 1385, 1387 (9th Cir. 1990).

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A.

Prior amendments

The Court’s discretion to deny an amendment is “particularly broad” where a plaintiff has

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previously amended his complaint previously. Allen, 911 F.2d at 373. Here, Plaintiff filed several

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other pleadings, but this is the first amendment requested since Defendants were served. Therefore,

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this factor does not weigh against amendment.

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B.

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By itself, undue delay is insufficient to prevent the Court from granting leave to amend

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pleadings. Howey v. United States, 481 F.2d 1187, 1191(9th Cir. 1973); DCD Programs v. Leighton,

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833 F.2d 183, 186 (9th Cir. 1986). However, in combination with other factors, delay may be sufficient

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to deny amendment. See Hurn v. Ret. Fund Trust of Plumbing, 648 F.2d 1252, 1254 (9th Cir. 1981).

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Evaluating undue delay, the Court considers “whether the moving party knew or should have known

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the facts and theories raised by the amendment in the original pleading.” Jackson, 902 F.2d at 1387;

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see also Eminence Capital, 316 F.3d at 1052. Also, the Court should examine whether “permitting an

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amendment would . . . produce an undue delay in the litigation.” Id. at 1387.

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Undue delay

Here, there are no facts demonstrating Plaintiff acted with undue delay in seeking to amend the
complaint, and this factor does not weigh against amendment.

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C.

Bad faith

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Plaintiff conferred with defendants’ counsel prior to filing the amended complaint. (Doc. 18 at

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2.) It does not appear that Plaintiff acted with bad faith, and this factor does not weigh against

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amendment.
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D.

Futility of Amendment

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“Futility of amendment can, by itself, justify the denial of a motion for leave to amend.”

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Bonin, 59 F.3d at 845; see also Miller v. Rykoff-Sexton, 845 F.2d 209, 214 (9th Cir. 1988) (“A motion

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for leave to amend may be denied if it appears to be futile or legally insufficient”). Futility may be

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found where added claims are duplicative of existing claims or patently frivolous, or both. See Bonin,

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59 F.3d at 846. Here, it does not appear that amendment would be futile, and this factor does not

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weigh against granting leave to amend.

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E.

Prejudice to the opposing party

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The most critical factor in determining whether to grant leave to amend is prejudice to the

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opposing party. Eminence Capital, 316 F.3d at 1052. The burden of showing prejudice is on the party

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opposing an amendment to the complaint. DCD Programs, 833 F.2d at 187. There is a presumption

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under Rule 15(a) in favor of granting leave to amend where prejudice is not shown. Eminence Capital,

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316 F.3d at 1052. As noted above, the defendants do not oppose motion to amend. Therefore, this

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factor does not weigh against amendment.

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IV.

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Conclusion and Order
Based upon the foregoing, the factors set forth by the Ninth Circuit weigh in favor of allowing

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Plaintiff to file a First Amended Complaint. See Madeja, 310 F.3d at 636. Therefore, the Court is

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acting within its discretion in granting the motion to amend, and declines to screen the Third Amended

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Complaint. See Swanson, 87 F.3d at 343.

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According, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED:

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1.

Plaintiff’s motion to amend (Doc. 18) is GRANTED; and

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2.

Plaintiff SHALL file his Third Amended Complaint lodged on February 24, 2014 (Doc.
19) within five court days.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

March 25, 2014

/s/ Jennifer L. Thurston
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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