(PC) Hampton v. Austin et al

Filing 18

ORDER signed by Magistrate Judge Dennis M. Cota on 9/7/2021 ORDERING the Court sua sponte extends the time for plaintiff to file a first amended complaint. Plaintiff may file a first amended complaint within 45 days. The Clerk shall send to plaintiff the civil rights complaint form for prisoners. (Yin, K)

Case 2:20-cv-01001-KJM-DMC Document 18 Filed 09/08/21 Page 1 of 2
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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GARY G. HAMPTON, JR.,

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Plaintiff,

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v.

No. 2:20-CV-1001-KJM-DMC-P

ORDER

LORI W. AUSTIN, et al.,

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Defendants.

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Plaintiff, a prisoner proceeding pro se, brings this civil rights action under 42

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U.S.C. § 1983.
On July 23, 2021, the Court issued an order addressing the sufficiency of

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Plaintiff’s original complaint and provided Plaintiff an opportunity to file a first amended

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complaint curing the defects identified in the order. See ECF No. 16. Apparently in response to

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the Court’s order, Plaintiff filed a document captioned “Order: Request to Amend Complaint;

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I’ve Been Instructed to Amend My Complaint Within 30 Days From Requested Filed Date of 7-

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23-21.” ECF No. 17. In this filing, Plaintiff explains that he has a learning disability and

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difficulty understanding. See id. Plaintiff then attempts to “connect the dots” to address the

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defects identified in the Court’s July 23, 2021, screening order. See id.

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Case 2:20-cv-01001-KJM-DMC Document 18 Filed 09/08/21 Page 2 of 2
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To the extent Plaintiff intends this filing to constitute his first amended complaint,

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it cannot do so because it is not complete in itself as required under Eastern District of California

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Local Rule 220. In particular, the Court would be required to refer to the original complaint in

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order to determine whether Plaintiff has in fact successfully “connected the dots.” As a general

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rule, an amended pleading supersedes the prior pleading. See Ferdik v. Bonzalet, 963 F.2d 1258,

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1262 (9th Cir. 1992). Were the Court to consider Plaintiff’s current filing an amended complaint,

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it would be incomplete and fail to state any claims. The Court will provide Plaintiff additional

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time to file a first amended complaint which is complete in itself without reference to the original

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complaint. Plaintiff is again cautioned that, if no first amended complaint is filed within the time

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provided below, the action will proceed on the original complaint.

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Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

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1.

The Court sua sponte extends the time for Plaintiff to file a first amended

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Plaintiff may file a first amended complaint within 45 days of the date of

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Any first amended complaint shall be complete in itself without reference

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complaint;

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this order;

to any prior pleading; and
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The Clerk of the Court shall send to Plaintiff the Court’s form civil rights

complaint for prisoners.

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Dated: September 7, 2021
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DENNIS M. COTA
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

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