Neal v. State of California et al

Filing 18

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman on 9/27/2018 DISMISSING plaintiff's amended complaint with 30 days to file a second amended complaint, in compliance with this order; failure to comply with this order will result in a recommendation of dismissal of this action. (Yin, K)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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ROBERT W. NEAL,

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No. 2:18-cv-1259 KJM KJN P

Plaintiff,

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v.

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ORDER

STATE OF CALIFORNIA, et al.,

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Defendants.

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Plaintiff is a state prisoner, proceeding without counsel, with a civil rights action pursuant

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to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. On August 29, 2018, the undersigned dismissed plaintiff’s complaint with

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leave to amend. (ECF No. 15.) On September 17, 2018, plaintiff filed an amended complaint.

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(ECF No. 17.) For the reasons stated herein, the amended complaint is dismissed with leave to

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file a second amended complaint.1
Rule 8(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure “requires only ‘short and plain

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statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief,’ in order to ‘give the

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defendant fair notice of what the … claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.’” Bell Atlantic

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Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007) (quoting Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47 (1957)).

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On September 17, 2018, plaintiff filed a letter indicating that he had not received the August
29, 2018 order when he prepared the amended complaint.
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The undersigned dismissed the original complaint, in part, because it did not contain a

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short and plain statement of the claims, as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8. (ECF

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No. 15 at 3.) With exhibits, the original complaint was 240 pages long. (Id.) Without exhibits,

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the original complaint was 46 pages long. (Id.) The undersigned found that plaintiff could state

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his claims in a much shorter pleading. (Id.) The undersigned ordered that the amended complaint

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could be no longer than 15 pages. (Id.)

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The amended complaint, which contains no exhibits, is 69 pages long. (ECF No. 17.)

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Plaintiff’s amended complaint does not comply with the August 29, 2018 order because it is

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longer than 15 pages. After reviewing the amended complaint, it is clear that plaintiff can state

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his claims in a much shorter pleading. The amended complaint is dismissed because it does not

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contain a short and plain statement of the claims as required by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8.

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If plaintiff files a second amended complaint, it may be no longer than 15 pages.

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that plaintiff’s amended complaint is dismissed

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with thirty days to file a second amended complaint, in compliance with this order; failure to

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

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Dated: September 27, 2018

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Neal1259.ame

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