Smith v. Siskiyou County Jail et al.

Filing 54

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Edmund F. Brennan on 7/31/2020 GRANTING 51 Motion to Amend the Complaint. Plaintiff shall file a second amended complaint within 30 days. Defendant's 45 Motion to Dismiss is DENIED as moot. (Zignago, K.)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JAMES ANTHONY SMITH,

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Plaintiff,

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No. 2:15-cv-2534-TLN-EFB P

v.

ORDER

SISKIYOU COUNTY JAIL, et al.,

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Defendants.

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Plaintiff is a state prisoner proceeding without counsel in an action brought under 42

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U.S.C. § 1983. This case proceeds on plaintiff’s first amended complaint against defendant

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Miller on an Eighth Amendment deliberate indifference to medical needs claim. See ECF Nos.

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16, 35, 40. On March 11, 2020, defendant Miller, the sole defendant in this action, filed a motion

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to dismiss for failure join an indispensable party pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure

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12(b)(7). ECF No. 45. On April 30, 2020, plaintiff responded to that motion by filing a motion

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to amend his complaint. ECF No. 51. That motion was not accompanied by a proposed second

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amended complaint. Defendant did not oppose or otherwise respond to plaintiff’s motion to

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amend. Subsequently, plaintiff filed opposition to the motion to dismiss. ECF No. 52.

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Because the motion to amend was filed more than 21 days after defendant moved to

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dismiss, plaintiff may only amend his complaint with defendant’s consent or leave of court. Fed.

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R. Civ. P. 15(a). Rule 15(a)(2) provides that “[t]he court should freely give leave when justice so

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requires,” and the Ninth Circuit has directed courts to apply this policy with “extreme liberality.”

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DCD Programs, Ltd. v. Leighton, 833 F.2d 183, 186 (9th Cir. 1987). When determining whether

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to grant leave to amend under Rule 15(a)(2), a court should consider the following factors: (1)

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undue delay, (2) bad faith, (3) futility of amendment, and (4) prejudice to the opposing party.

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Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182 (1962). According to the Ninth Circuit, “the crucial factor is

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the resulting prejudice to the opposing party,” and the burden of showing that prejudice is on the

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party opposing amendment. Howey v. United States, 481 F.2d 1187, 1190 (9th Cir. 1973);

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Eminence Capital, LLC v. Aspeon, Inc., 316 F.3d 1048, 1052 (9th Cir. 2003); DCD Programs,

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833 F.2d at 187. Granting or denying leave to amend rests in the sound discretion of the trial

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court and will be reversed only for abuse of discretion. Swanson v. U.S. Forest Serv., 87 F.3d

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339, 343 (9th Cir. 1996).

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Here, there is no indication that plaintiff, who is appearing pro se, unduly delayed in

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requesting leave to amend or that his request was in bad faith. Rather, plaintiff’s motion to

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amend seeks to name two additional defendants. ECF No. 51 at 3. One of the proposed

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defendants is Captain Jeff Huston, an individual identified by defendant Miller’s motion to

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dismiss as an “indispensable party” to this action.1 See ECF No. 45. Further, the court cannot

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find at this time that amendment would be futile and defendant Miller has not opposed the

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amendment or otherwise shown that it will prejudice him. Accordingly, plaintiff motion to

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amend the complaint is granted and defendant’s motion to dismiss is denied as moot. See Forsyth

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v. Humana, Inc., 114 F.3d 1467, 1474 (9th Cir. 1997) (An “amended complaint supersedes the

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original, the latter being treated thereafter as non-existent.”); Ramirez v. Silgan Containers, 2007

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WL 1241829, at *6 (Apr. 26, 2007) (granting motion to amend and denying motion to dismiss

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prior compliant as moot).

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The court expresses no opinion as to the merits of this argument.
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Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that:

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1. Plaintiff’s motion for leave to amend the complaint (ECF No. 51) is GRANTED.

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2. Plaintiff shall file a second amended complaint within 30 days from the date of service

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of this order. Thereafter, the court will screen the second amended complaint as

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required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. Plaintiff’s failure to comply with this order may

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result in a recommendation of dismissal.

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3. Defendant’s motion to dismiss (ECF No. 45) is DENIED as moot.
DATED: July 31, 2020.

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