Walsh v. Celaya et al

Filing 9

ORDER granting 8 Motion for Extension of Time to Amend. Plaintiff's Amended Complaint, should he elect to file one, must be receivedby the Court no later than Monday, November 12, 2012. Signed by Janis L. Sammartino on 9/20/2012. (All non-registered users served via U.S. Mail Service)(jao)

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 12 BENJAMIN A. WALSH, CDCR #K-35564, 12cv1603 JLS (MDD) Plaintiff, 13 ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME TO AMEND vs. 14 15 Case No. [ECF No. 8] J. CELAYA, et al., 16 17 Defendants. 18 Benjamin A. Walsh (“Plaintiff”), currently incarcerated at Richard J. Donovan 19 Correctional Facility (“RJDCF”) in San Diego, California, is proceeding pro se in this civil 20 action filed pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. At the time he filed his Complaint, Plaintiff did 21 not prepay the $350 filing fee mandated by 28 U.S.C. § 1914(a); instead, he filed copies of 22 his inmate trust account statements, which the Court construed to be a request to proceed in 23 forma pauperis (“IFP”) pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(a) [ECF No. 3]. 24 On July 30, 2012, the Court granted Plaintiff’s IFP Motion, but dismissed his 25 Complaint for failing to state a claim pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2) and 1915A(b). See 26 July 30, 2012 Order [ECF No. 6]. Plaintiff was granted 45 days leave, however, to amend 27 his pleading. Id. at 6-7; see also Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1130-31 (9th Cir. 2000) (en 28 banc) (“[A] district court should grant leave to amend even if no request to amend the -1- 12cv1603 JLS (MDD) 1 pleading was made, unless it determines that the pleading could not possibly be cured.” 2 (citations omitted)). On September 10, 2012, Plaintiff filed a Motion for Extension of Time in which to file 3 4 his Amended Complaint. See Pl.’s Mot. [ECF No. 8]. While Plaintiff offers no explanation 5 as to why he has been unable to timely comply with its July 30, 2012 Order, the Court will 6 presume that limitations placed on him due to his continued confinement at RJDCF have 7 played a role. 8 I. PLAINTIFF’S MOTION 9 This is Plaintiff’s first request for an extension of time, his request is timely, and he is 10 still proceeding without counsel. See Balistreri v. Pacifica Police Dep’t, 901 F.2d 696, 699 11 (9th Cir. 1990) (court has a “duty to ensure that pro se litigants do not lose their right to a 12 hearing on the merits of their claim due to ... technical procedural requirements.”). Thus, the 13 Court finds good cause to grant Plaintiff’s request. “‘Strict time limits ... ought not to be 14 insisted upon’ where restraints resulting from a pro se ... plaintiff’s incarceration prevent 15 timely compliance with court deadlines.” Eldridge v. Block, 832 F.2d 1132, 1136 (9th Cir. 16 1987) (citing Tarantino v. Eggers, 380 F.2d 465, 468 (9th Cir. 1967); see also Bennett v. 17 King, 205 F.3d 1188, 1189 (9th Cir. 2000) (reversing district court’s dismissal of prisoner’s 18 amended pro se complaint as untimely where mere 30-day delay was result of prison-wide 19 lockdown). 20 Plaintiff is cautioned, however, that no further extensions of time will be granted to 21 him without explanation or support. See King v. Atiyeh, 814 F.2d 565, 567 (9th Cir. 1987) 22 (noting that although the Court must construe his pleadings liberally, a pro se litigant “must 23 follow the same rules of procedure that govern other litigants.”). 24 II. CONCLUSION AND ORDER 25 Accordingly, the Court hereby: 26 1) GRANTS Plaintiff’s Motion to Extend Time to file an Amended Complaint 27 [ECF No. 8]. Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint, should he elect to file one, must be received 28 by the Court no later than Monday, November 12, 2012. Moreover, Plaintiff is cautioned -2- 12cv1603 JLS (MDD) 1 that his Amended Complaint must address the deficiencies of pleading previously identified 2 in the Court’s July 30, 2012 Order [ECF No. 6], and must be complete in itself without 3 reference to his original Complaint. See S.D. CAL. CIVLR 15.1; Hal Roach Studios, Inc. v. 4 Richard Feiner & Co., Inc., 896 F.2d 1542, 1546 (9th Cir. 1989). 2) 5 IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that should Plaintiff elect not to file an 6 Amended Complaint by November 12, 2012, this case shall remain dismissed for failure to 7 state a claim pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1915(e)(2) and 1915A(b) without further Order by the 8 Court. 9 10 11 12 DATED: September 20, 2012 Honorable Janis L. Sammartino United States District Judge 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 -3- 12cv1603 JLS (MDD)

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