Coleman v. Foulk, et al

Filing 11

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Carolyn K. Delaney on 2/26/2014 GRANTING plaintiff's 7 request to proceed IFP; plaintiff shall pay the $350.00 filing fee in accordance with the concurrent CDCR order; plaintiff's complaint is DISMISSED; and plaintiff has 30 days, to file an amended complaint. (Yin, K)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SAADHI ABDUL COLEMAN,

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No. 2:13-cv-1753 CKD P

Plaintiff,
v.

ORDER

FRED FOULK, et al.,
Defendants.

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Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding pro se. Plaintiff seeks relief pursuant to 42 U.S.C.

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§ 1983 and has requested leave to proceed in forma pauperis pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915. This

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proceeding was referred to this court by Local Rule 302 pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1).

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Plaintiff has submitted a declaration that makes the showing required by 28 U.S.C. §
1915(a). Accordingly, the request to proceed in forma pauperis will be granted.

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Plaintiff is required to pay the statutory filing fee of $350.00 for this action. 28 U.S.C. §§

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1914(a), 1915(b)(1). By separate order, the court will direct the appropriate agency to collect the

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initial partial filing fee from plaintiff’s trust account and forward it to the Clerk of the Court.

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Thereafter, plaintiff will be obligated for monthly payments of twenty percent of the preceding

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month’s income credited to plaintiff’s prison trust account. These payments will be forwarded by

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the appropriate agency to the Clerk of the Court each time the amount in plaintiff’s account

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exceeds $10.00, until the filing fee is paid in full. 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2).
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The court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners where, as here, the

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prisoner seeks relief against a governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental

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entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The court has conducted the required screening.

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Plaintiff’s complaint is 80 pages long. It was handwritten by plaintiff in small, at times

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illegible print. Most of the complaint is a recitation of allegations of fact which are not material

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to any valid cause of action upon which plaintiff could proceed in this court. Because the

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complaint fails, in any sense, to comply with the requirement that a complaint contain only a

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“short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief,” Fed. R. Civ.

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P. 8(2), the complaint will be dismissed.

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The court will, however, grant leave to amend. In the amended complaint, plaintiff shall

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not present allegations of fact which do not support any claim upon which plaintiff may obtain

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relief in this court. While the court understands that plaintiff is a pro se litigant, and therefore

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entitled to a liberal interpretation of his pleadings, plaintiff is not entitled to bombard the court

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and defendants with page after page of meaningless allegations in a flailing attempt to state a

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claim upon which the court could grant relief. If plaintiff believes he has been harmed to a degree

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which is actionable in this court, plaintiff should identify specifically how he was harmed (i.e.

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what actionable injury he has suffered) and then include only those facts which identify who

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actually caused him harm. Plaintiff must omit meaningless background information and

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defendants who either had no part in causing plaintiff harm or whom plaintiff merely suspects had

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some part without any facts to back up his suspicions.

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The court notes that plaintiff has commenced several other actions in this court, and

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assumes he has filed actions in other courts. In his amended complaint, plaintiff shall not include

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any claims which have been finally adjudicated in other actions.

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Finally, with respect to any amended complaint, plaintiff is informed that the court cannot

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refer to a prior pleading in order to make plaintiff’s amended complaint complete. Local Rule

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220 requires that an amended complaint be complete in itself without reference to any prior

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pleading. This is because, as a general rule, an amended complaint supersedes the original

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complaint. See Loux v. Rhay, 375 F.2d 55, 57 (9th Cir. 1967). Once plaintiff files an amended
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complaint, the original pleading no longer serves any function in the case. Therefore, in an

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amended complaint, as in an original complaint, each claim and the involvement of each

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defendant must be sufficiently alleged.

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In accordance with the above, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1. Plaintiff’s request for leave to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 7) is granted.

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2. Plaintiff is obligated to pay the statutory filing fee of $350.00 for this action. All fees

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shall be collected and paid in accordance with this court’s order to the Director of the California

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Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation filed concurrently herewith.

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3. Plaintiff’s complaint is dismissed.
4. Plaintiff is granted thirty days from the date of service of this order to file an amended

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complaint that complies with the requirements of this order, the Civil Rights Act, the Federal

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Rules of Civil Procedure, and the Local Rules of Practice. The amended complaint must bear the

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docket number assigned this case and must be labeled “Amended Complaint. Failure to file an

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amended complaint in accordance with this order within 30 days will result in a recommendation

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that this action be dismissed.

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Dated: February 26, 2014

_____________________________________
CAROLYN K. DELANEY
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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