Hale v. Pate et al

Filing 10

IT IS ORDERED that, if he still desires to amend his complaint, Plaintiff shall file his First Amended Complaint within 35 days of the entry of this order. (Amended Pleadings due by 6/13/2016). Signed by Chief Judge Michael J. Reagan on 5/9/2016. (tjk)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
SHANNON ZINN HALE, # B-87242,
Plaintiff,
vs.
BRANDON PATE,
PAT BOMA, ALBERT WALKER,
JAMES MICHAEL RIDEN,
and SALINE COUNTY DETENTION
CENTER,
Defendants.

)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)

Case No. 16-cv-150-MJR

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
REAGAN, Chief District Judge:
Plaintiff, currently incarcerated at Southwestern Illinois Correctional Center
(“Southwestern”), has brought this pro se civil rights action pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983. His
claims arose shortly after his arrest in Saline County. Plaintiff asserts that Defendants subjected
him to excessive force. This case is now before the Court for a preliminary review of the
complaint pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915A. However, before this review can be conducted, the
Court must address Plaintiff’s motions to amend his complaint.
Plaintiff filed his pro se complaint on February 10, 2016. On February 22, 2016,
he submitted a motion seeking to amend the section of his complaint stating the relief sought, in
order to specify that he requests $22 million in damages (Doc. 4).
On March 7, 2016, Plaintiff submitted another motion to amend his complaint
(Doc. 9). He asked to remove the Saline County Detention Center from the list of Defendants.
Along with the motion, Plaintiff submitted a three-page document entitled “Amended
Page 1 of 3

Complaint,” which was not filed of record pending review by the Court. This document consists
only of a revised statement of facts, in 21 numbered paragraphs, supporting Plaintiff’s claims.
Plaintiff signed the document, but it does not contain a case caption, does not list or identify the
defendants, and does not contain any request for relief. As such, it cannot stand alone as an
amended complaint.
Plaintiff’s motions (Docs. 4 & 9) and the proposed amended complaint are
improper attempts to amend the original complaint in a piecemeal, cut-and-paste fashion. This is
not allowed. An amended complaint supersedes and replaces the original complaint, rendering
the original complaint void. See Flannery v. Recording Indus. Ass’n of Am., 354 F.3d 632, 638
n.1 (7th Cir. 2004). Plaintiff may still amend his complaint, but he must do so by submitting a
complete pleading, that stands on its own without reference to the original complaint or any other
document.
Accordingly, the motions to amend complaint (Docs. 4 & 9) are DENIED
without prejudice.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that, if he still desires to amend his complaint,
Plaintiff shall file his First Amended Complaint within 35 days of the entry of this order (on or
before June 13, 2016). It is strongly recommended that Plaintiff use the form designed for use in
this District for civil rights actions. He should label the pleading “First Amended Complaint”
and include Case Number 16-cv-150-MJR. Plaintiff should attempt to include the facts of his
case in chronological order, inserting Defendants’ names where necessary to identify the actors
and the dates of any material acts or omissions.
Because the amended complaint supersedes and replaces the original complaint,
the First Amended Complaint must contain all the relevant allegations in support of Plaintiff’s

Page 2 of 3

claims and must stand on its own, without reference to any other pleading. Should the First
Amended Complaint not conform to these requirements, it shall be stricken. If Plaintiff does not
file a complete amended complaint within the above deadline, the Court shall proceed to conduct
its merits review on the original complaint (Doc. 1).
No service shall be ordered on any Defendant until after the Court completes the
§ 1915A review of the operative complaint.
In order to assist Plaintiff in preparing his amended complaint, the Clerk is
DIRECTED to mail Plaintiff a blank civil rights complaint form.
Finally, Plaintiff is ADVISED that he is under a continuing obligation to keep the
Clerk of Court and each opposing party informed of any change in his address; the Court will not
independently investigate his whereabouts. This shall be done in writing and not later than 7
days after a transfer or other change in address occurs. Failure to comply with this order will
cause a delay in the transmission of court documents and may result in dismissal of this action
for want of prosecution. See FED. R. CIV. P. 41(b).
IT IS SO ORDERED.
DATED: May 9, 2016

s/ MICHAEL J. REAGAN
Chief Judge
United States District Court

Page 3 of 3