Wahl v. Sutton

Filing 14

ORDER DISREGARDING Plaintiff's Supplemental Pleading 8 ; ORDER DENYING 9 Motion to Supplement ; ORDER GRANTING Plaintiff Leave to Amend, signed by Magistrate Judge Barbara A. McAuliffe on 1/13/2017. (30-Day Deadline for First Amended Complaint) (Martin-Gill, S)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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PETER GERARD WAHL,

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Plaintiff,

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v.

Defendant.

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ORDER DISREGARDING PLAINTIFF’S
SUPPLEMENTAL PLEADING (ECF No. 8)
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION
TO SUPPLEMENT (ECF No. 9)

SUTTON,

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Case No. 1:16-cv-01576-BAM (PC)

ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF LEAVE TO
AMEND
THIRTY (30) DAY DEADLINE

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Plaintiff Peter Gerard Wahl (“Plaintiff”) is proceeding pro se and in forma pauperis in this

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civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Plaintiff initiated this action on October 19, 2016.

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(ECF No. 1.) Plaintiff has consented to magistrate judge jurisdiction. (ECF No. 7.)

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The Court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a

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governmental entity and/or against an officer or employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. §

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1915A(a). Before the Court could screen Plaintiff’s complaint, Plaintiff filed a supplemental

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pleading on November 4, 2016 (ECF No. 8) and a motion to supplement on December 7, 2016

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(ECF No. 9).

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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(d) states, “[o]n motion and reasonable notice, the court

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may, on just terms, permit a party to serve a supplemental pleading setting out any transaction,

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occurrence, or event that happened after the date of the pleading to be supplemented.” Fed. R.

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Civ. P. 15(d). “While leave to permit supplemental pleadings is favored, it cannot be used to

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introduce a separate, distinct and new cause of action.” Planned Parenthood of So. Arizona v.

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Neely, 130 F.3d 400, 402 (9th Cir. 1997) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).

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Upon review, Plaintiff’s supplemental pleading does not set forth any facts that arose after

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the filing of his original complaint. Plaintiff instead seeks class action certification, injunctive

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relief for law library access and expedited transfers, and an opportunity to amend. Plaintiff also

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appears to allege retaliation, among other new causes of action. However, Plaintiff may not use a

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supplemental pleading to introduce new and separate causes of action. See Planned Parenthood,

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130 F.3d at 402. For these reasons, Plaintiff’s supplemental complaint shall be disregarded.

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As for Plaintiff’s motion to supplement, it is one page in length and seeks only to apprise

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the Court of the recently passed Proposition 57 in California. Plaintiff’s motion alleges no new

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facts that arose subsequent to the original complaint to support a supplemental pleading. See Fed.

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R. Civ. P. 15(d). Additionally, the information about Proposition 57 is unnecessary. Plaintiff need

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not submit legal authorities in order to plead a cognizable claim for relief. Cf. Johnson v. City of

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Shelby, Miss., 135 S.Ct. 346, 346-47 (2014) (per curiam) (holding that federal pleading rules do

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not require a perfect statement of the legal theory supporting the claim asserted); see also Fed. R.

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Civ. P. 8(a)(2) (complaint requires “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the

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pleader is entitled to relief”). For these reasons, Plaintiff’s motion to supplement shall be denied.

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Given that Plaintiff seeks an opportunity to amend, the Court advises Plaintiff that he may

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amend his complaint once as a matter of course. Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(1) (“A party may amend its

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pleading once as a matter of course…”). Plaintiff is reminded that an amended complaint should

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be brief, Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a), but it must state what each named defendant did that led to the

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deprivation of Plaintiff’s constitutional rights. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678-79 (2009).

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Although accepted as true, the “[f]actual allegations must be [sufficient] to raise a right to relief

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above the speculative level . . . .” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)

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(citations omitted).
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Additionally, Plaintiff may not change the nature of this suit by adding new, unrelated

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claims in his first amended complaint. George v. Smith, 507 F.3d 605, 607 (7th Cir. 2007) (no

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“buckshot” complaints).

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Finally, the Court advises Plaintiff that an amended complaint supersedes the original

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complaint. Lacey v. Maricopa Cnty., 693 F.3d 896, 927 (9th Cir. 2012) (en banc). Therefore,

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Plaintiff’s amended complaint must be “complete in itself without reference to the prior or

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superseded pleading,” Local Rule 220, and should be filed within thirty (30) days of service of

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this order.

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Accordingly, the Court HEREBY ORDERS that:
1. Plaintiff’s supplemental pleading, filed November 4, 2016 (ECF No. 8), is

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DISREGARDED;

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2. Plaintiff’s motion to supplement, filed December 7, 2016 (ECF No. 9), is DENIED;

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3. Within thirty (30) days from the date of service of this order, Plaintiff may file a first

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amended complaint; and
4. If Plaintiff fails to file an amended complaint within the time specified by this order,

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the Court will screen Plaintiff’s original complaint, filed on October 19, 2016,

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pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated:

/s/ Barbara

January 13, 2017

A. McAuliffe

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UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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