Logan v. Horwitz, et al.

Filing 114

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Allison Claire on 03/03/17 ordering the clerk of the court is directed to strike plaintiff's third amended complaint 112 from the record. (Plummer, M)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JAMES DAVID LOGAN, II,

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Plaintiff,

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No. 2:15-cv-0121 MCE AC P

v.

ORDER

EVALYN HORWITZ, et al.,

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Defendants.

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Plaintiff, a state prisoner, is proceeding pro se with a civil rights action pursuant to 42

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U.S.C. § 1983.
Plaintiff has filed a third amended complaint. ECF No. 112. It appears that he is seeking

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to amend the complaint to add claims against new defendants for failure to provide proper

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medical care, retaliation, and fabricating a rule violation. ECF No. 112 at 3-5. If plaintiff is

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attempting to add these claims to his second amended complaint, doing so is not permitted

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because neither the claims nor defendants are properly joined. Joinder is inappropriate because

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the new claims do not involve the same defendants or arise out of the same transaction or

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occurrence identified in the currently operative complaint. L.R. 137(c); Fed. R. Civ. P. 18; Fed.

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R. Civ. P. 20. In other words, the new claims and defendants are not related to the claims

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currently in front of the court, and therefore may not be added.

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Additionally, the third amended complaint does not include any of plaintiff’s previous

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claims or defendants. Local Rule 220 requires that an amended complaint be complete in itself

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without reference to any prior pleading. This requirement exists because, as a general rule, an

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amended complaint supersedes the original complaint. See Loux v. Rhay, 375 F.2d 55, 57 (9th

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Cir. 1967). Therefore, if plaintiff wishes to file an amended complaint, each claim and the

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involvement of each defendant must be sufficiently alleged because the previous pleading no

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longer serves any function in the case. The court cannot refer to a prior pleading to make

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plaintiff’s amended complaint complete.

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If plaintiff wishes completely change the claims he is pursuing and abandon the claims

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currently before the court, he must dismiss this case and initiate a new action alleging all of his

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new claims and the involvement of each defendant. Defendants have been served in the instant

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case and discovery has nearly completed as to one of the defendants, and the court will not allow

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plaintiff to completely change the claims before it at this stage.

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Plaintiff is reminded that his prior requests for leave to amend the complaint (ECF Nos.

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107, 109) were denied (ECF No. 111). Moreover, plaintiff has been previously warned that

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piecemeal filings would be disregarded by the court and he has continued to disregard this court’s

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orders. The third amended complaint (ECF No. 112) will therefore be stricken from the record

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and the court will proceed only on the second amended complaint (ECF No. 53).

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court is directed to strike

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plaintiff’s third amended complaint (ECF No. 112) from the record.

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DATED: March 3, 2017

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