Woods v. Curry et al

Filing 38

ORDER OF DISMISSAL. Signed by Judge Jeffrey S. White on 5/2/13. (jjoS, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 5/2/2013)

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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EARNEST C. WOODS,

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Plaintiff,
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v.
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BEN CURRY, et al.,
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Defendants.
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__________________________________ )

No. C 10-1859 JSW (PR)

ORDER OF DISMISSAL

(Docket No. 36)

Plaintiff, a California prisoner, has filed this pro se civil rights complaint under 42
U.S.C. § 1983. He was granted leave to proceed in forma pauperis.
After reviewing the complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(g), the Court found

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that it improperly joined a variety of claims into a single complaint. See Fed. R. Civ. P.

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18, 20. Specifically, the complaint asserted claims against 41 different defendants based

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on a wide variety of unrelated events that occurred at his prison, the California Training

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Facility (“CTF”), over a substantial period of time. See George v. Smith, 507 F.3d 605,

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607 (7th Cir. 2007) (federal joinder rules prohibit prisoner filing “buckshot complaint”

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that joins unrelated claims against different defendants, e.g. “a suit complaining that A

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defrauded plaintiff, B defamed him, C punched him, D failed to pay a debt, and E

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infringed his copyright, all in different transactions”). Because it could not be discerned

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which of the broad array of claims Plaintiff would want to eliminate, the case was

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dismissed with leave to file an amended complaint that, pursuant to federal joinder rules,

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only included claims that arise out of the same transaction, occurrence, or series of

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transactions or occurrences and present questions of law or fact common to all

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defendants. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 20(a). He was cautioned that his failure to do so would

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result in the dismissal of this case without prejudice.

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Plaintiff has filed an amended complaint that suffers from the same deficiencies as

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the original complaint. It names 43 defendants and consists entirely of a narrative

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recounting over approximately 30 pages a long series of unrelated events that took place

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at his prison over the course of five years. He asserts a wide variety of constitutional

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violations against different defendants, but at no point does he list his claims. He also

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attaches voluminous unlabeled exhibits, which he does not cite or explain. In sum, the

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amended complaint is a prototypical “buckshot” complaint alleging different and

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unrelated claims against different defendants. As Plaintiff has been informed that such a

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complaint is prohibited, and as he has been afforded an opportunity to cure this type of

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deficiency in his pleadings but has failed to do so, this case is DISMISSED without

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prejudice to filing a new complaint in a new case that complies with the Federal Rules of

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Civil Procedure.

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Plaintiff’s renewed request for “appointment” of counsel (dkt. 36) is DENIED.
The Clerk shall enter judgment and close the file.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: May 2, 2013

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JEFFREY S. WHITE
United States District Judge

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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EARNEST C. WOODS II,

Case Number: CV10-01859 JSW

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Plaintiff,

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

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v.

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BEN CURRY et al,

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Defendant.

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/

I, the undersigned, hereby certify that I am an employee in the Office of the Clerk, U.S. District
Court, Northern District of California.
That on May 2, 2013, I SERVED a true and correct copy(ies) of the attached, by placing said
copy(ies) in a postage paid envelope addressed to the person(s) hereinafter listed, by depositing
said envelope in the U.S. Mail, or by placing said copy(ies) into an inter-office delivery
receptacle located in the Clerk's office.

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Earnest C. Woods D 58091
P.O. Box 689
Soledad, CA 95696

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Dated: May 2, 2013

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Richard W. Wieking, Clerk
By: Jennifer Ottolini, Deputy Clerk