Morton Sr v. CVS Corporation-CVS Health

Filing 8

ORDER denying 7 Motion. Amended Complaint deadline: 11/22/2016. Signed by Magistrate Judge Nancy J. Koppe on 11/7/2016. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF and Mailed 5 Order to P - JM)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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TERRANCE D. MORTON, SR.,

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On October 4, 2016, the Court screened Plaintiff’s complaint as required by 28 U.S.C.

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§ 1915. Docket No. 5. The Court found that Plaintiff failed to establish subject matter jurisdiction.

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Id. at 3-4. In particular, the Court found that Plaintiff had failed to allege that the Court has federal

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question jurisdiction, and also failed to allege a sufficient amount in controversy such that diversity

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jurisdiction exists. Id. at 4. The Court ordered that, to the extent Plaintiff believed he could cure that

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defect, he must file an amended complaint by November 1, 2016. Id. The Court further warned

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Plaintiff that dismissal of this case could result from failing to file an amended complaint.

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Plaintiff(s),
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vs.
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CVS CORPORATION,
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Defendant(s).

Case No. 2:16-cv-02307-RFB-NJK
ORDER

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To date, no amended complaint has been filed. Instead, Plaintiff (who is proceeding pro se)

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filed a motion to serve Defendant. Docket No. 7. That motion is premature, as the Court will not

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order service through the United States Marshal Service unless and until Plaintiff has properly pled

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that this Court has subject matter jurisdiction.

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To be clear, this case cannot proceed unless Plaintiff files an amended complaint that resolves

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the defects identified in the order at Docket No. 5. To ensure Plaintiff has an opportunity to amend

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his pleadings, the Court will extend the deadline to file an amended complaint to November 22,

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2016.

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For the above reasons, the Court hereby ORDERS that:

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1.

The motion to serve Defendant at Docket No. 7 is DENIED as premature.

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2.

Plaintiff will have until November 22, 2016, to file an Amended Complaint, if he

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believes he can correct the noted deficiencies in Docket No. 5. If Plaintiff chooses

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to amend the complaint, Plaintiff is informed that the Court cannot refer to a prior

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pleading (i.e., his original Complaint) in order to make the Amended Complaint

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complete. This is because, as a general rule, an Amended Complaint supersedes the

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original Complaint. Local Rule 15-1(a) requires that an Amended Complaint be

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complete in itself without reference to any prior pleading. Once a plaintiff files an

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Amended Complaint, the original Complaint no longer serves any function in the

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case. Therefore, in an Amended Complaint, as in an original Complaint, each claim

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and the involvement of each Defendant must be sufficiently alleged. Failure to

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comply with this order will result in the recommended dismissal of this case.

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3.

The Clerk’s Office is INSTRUCTED to serve Plaintiff with this order, and with a
copy of the Court’s previous order at Docket No. 5.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: November 7, 2016

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NANCY J. KOPPE
United States Magistrate Judge

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