Sloan v. Commissioner of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation et al

Filing 31

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Allison Claire on 9/6/2017 DISMISSING plaintiff's first amended complaint, with leave to amend. Within 30 days, plaintiff may file an amended complaint in accordance with this order. The Clerk shall send plaintiff a prisoner complaint form. (Yin, K)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JOHNNY LEE SLOAN, JR.,

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No. 2:15-cv-01921 MCE AC P

Plaintiff,
v.

ORDER

COMMISSIONER OF THE
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
AND REHABILITATION, et al.,
Defendants.

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By order filed January 3, 2017, the undersigned screened the original complaint and

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dismissed it with leave to amend. ECF No. 21. Plaintiff then filed a motion for leave to exceed

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the twenty-five page limit for his first amended complaint, which included a proposed amended

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complaint. ECF Nos. 25, 26. He sought leave to exceed the page limit based on a need to

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address “each level of review of [his] appeals,” with “lengthy verbiage.” ECF No. 25 at 2.

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Plaintiff was advised that the twenty-five page limit applied only to complaints that were

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filed using the e-filing system. ECF No. 27 at 1. He was further warned that “while there is no

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page limit outside of e-filing, a complaint exceeding twenty-five pages would be highly

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disfavored because it would be unlikely to meet the short, plain statement requirement” under

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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8. Id.

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Plaintiff’s proposed amended complaint was ninety-two pages long. ECF No. 26. The
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court denied the and struck the proposed amended complaint because it did not meet the short,

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plain statement standard and the circumstances he alleged did not merit an exception to Rule 8.

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ECF No. 27. Plaintiff was given thirty days to file an amended complaint that complied with

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Rule 8. Id.

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Plaintiff has now filed a first amended complaint. ECF No. 30. However, the amended

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complaint is 121 pages, approximately thirty pages longer than the proposed amended complaint

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which was dismissed for its excessive length. Plaintiff has completely disregarded the court’s

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directive that he comply with Rule 8. The first amended complaint will therefore be dismissed

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and plaintiff will be given one last opportunity to file an amended complaint that complies with

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Rule 8. Furthermore, the court will limit plaintiff’s amended complaint to twenty-five pages.

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Exceeding the page limit set by this order will result in a recommendation that this action be

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dismissed for failure to comply with a court order.

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Plaintiff is reminded that his claims must be set forth in short and plain terms, simply,

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concisely, and directly. He must eliminate from his pleading all preambles, introductions,

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argument, speeches, explanations, stories, griping, vouching, evidence, attempts to negate

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possible defenses, summaries, and the like or face dismissal of the complaint. See McHenry v.

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Renne, 84 F.3d 1172, 1180 (9th Cir. 1996) (affirming dismissal of § 1983 complaint for violation

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of Rule 8 after warning); Crawford-El v. Britton, 523 U.S. 574, 597 (1998) (reiterating that “firm

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application of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is fully warranted” in prisoner cases (citations

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and internal quotation marks omitted)). The court (and defendants) should be able to read and

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understand plaintiff’s pleading within minutes. See McHenry, 84 F.3d at 1177 (pointing out that

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the form complaint for negligence previously provided in the Federal Rules “can be read in

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seconds and answered in minutes”). A long, rambling pleading, including many defendants with

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unexplained, tenuous, or implausible connection to the alleged constitutional injury or joining a

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series of unrelated claims against many defendants very likely will result in delaying the review

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required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915 and an order dismissing plaintiff’s action pursuant to Federal Rule

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of Civil Procedure 41 for violation of these instructions.

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Furthermore, plaintiff is advised that he may join multiple claims if they are all against a
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single defendant, Fed. R. Civ. P. 18(a), and joinder of defendants is only permitted if “any right to

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relief is asserted against them . . . with respect to or arising out of the same transaction,

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occurrence, or series of transactions or occurrences; and any question of law or fact common to

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all defendants will arise in the action,” Fed. R. Civ. P. 20 (emphasis added). In other words,

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joining more than one claim is only proper when it is against one defendant, and joining multiple

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defendants in one complaint is only proper when the action is based on the same facts.

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Additionally, in drafting an amended complaint, plaintiff should not walk the court through the

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facts and circumstances of every grievance. Instead, plaintiff should tell the court whether he has

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properly exhausted his claims, and if not, briefly explain why. For example, if plaintiff claims

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that the prison refused to accept his appeals, he should plainly state “they refused to accept my

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appeals.” This type of statement would be appropriate under the short, plain statement standard

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that is applicable here. He should not explain every attempt he made to have his appeals

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accepted.

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1. Plaintiff’s first amended complaint (ECF No. 30) is dismissed with leave to amend.

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2. Within thirty days from the date of service of this order, plaintiff may file an amended

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complaint that complies with this order and with the Rule 8 standard of a short, plain statement.

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The amended complaint must be no longer than twenty-five pages, must bear the docket

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number assigned this case, and must be labeled “Second Amended Complaint.” Plaintiff must

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file an original and two copies of the amended complaint. An amended complaint that does not

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comply with this order will result in a recommendation for dismissal of this action.

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3. The Clerk of the Court is directed to send plaintiff a copy of the prisoner complaint
form used in this district.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: September 6, 2017

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