McDonald v. Olivas et al
Filing
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ORDER re # 81 Motion : P's request for permission to supplement defendants is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE; AG's shall also ensure Plaintiff has a reasonable opportunity to view any case documents maintained in the Warden's Office; the remaining components of P's Motion will be addressed at a subsequent status conference. Signed by Magistrate Judge William G. Cobb on 8/4/2014. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - DRM)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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REGINALD McDONALD,
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Plaintiff,
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vs.
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OLIVAS, et al.,
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Defendants.
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______________________________________)
3:13-cv-00240-MMD-WGC
ORDER
Re: Doc. # 81
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Before the court is Plaintiff's combined filing Motion to Inform and Motion to Inquire. (Doc.
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# 81.)1 The motions pose numerous questions to the court, most of which will be addressed at the next
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status conference the court will conduct in this matter. The courtroom administrator will schedule a
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conference as soon as the court's calendar will accommodate a hearing. In the meantime, the court will
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address two matters contained in Plaintiff's motions.
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I.
Permission to Supplement Defendants
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Plaintiff requests leave to add "A.A. II Aurelia Ewing" as a defendant. Plaintiff states he has not
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exhausted his grievance process against Ms. Ewing. (Doc. # 81 at 3.) The request for permission to
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supplement his complaint by adding a new party defendant is denied without prejudice. Under Local
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Rule 15-1, the procedure Plaintiff should utilize should he seek to add a new party, is to submit a
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proposed amended complaint under cover of a motion for leave to amend. L.R. Rule 15-1 requires that
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an amended complaint be complete in itself without reference to any prior pleading. This is because, as
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a general rule, an amended complaint supersedes the original complaint. See Loux v. Rhay, 375 F.2d 55,
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57 (9th Cir. 1967). Once plaintiff files an amended complaint, the original pleading no longer serves any
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function in the case. Therefore, in an amended complaint, as in an original complaint, each claim and
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Refers to court's docket number.
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the involvement of each defendant must be sufficiently alleged.
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Although the court recently extended certain deadlines in this case (See Minutes of the Court,
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Doc. # 84), the deadline for amending the complaint (July 7, 2014) had already passed. (Scheduling
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Order, Doc. # 40 at ¶2.) Therefore, Plaintiff's motion to amend, if any, will also have to provide the court
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with an explanation why any motion for leave to amend was not filed prior to the expiration of the
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deadline.
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While the court is not expressing any opinion on the pre-litigation requirements of exhaustion
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of administrative remedies, the Plaintiff is advised that the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has
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ruled the Prison Litigation Reform Act requires exhaustion as a precondition to filing a § 1983
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conditions of confinement suit. Cano v. Taylor, 739 F.3d 1214, 1219 (9th Cir. 2014) (citation omitted);
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McKinney v. Carey, 311 F.3d 1198, 1199-1201 (9th Cir. 2002) (per curiam).
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Plaintiff's request for permission to supplement defendants (Doc. # 81 at 3) is DENIED
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WITHOUT PREJUDICE.
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II.
Inspection of Confidential Documents
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Plaintiff represents that despite assurances from the Attorney General's Office he would be
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afforded an opportunity to view confidential aspects of Defendants' discovery productions (see
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Defendants' Limited Non Opposition to Motion to Request Extension of Discovery, Doc. # 77 at 3), he
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claims he has been thwarted from doing so. Plaintiff references numerous kites, request forms,
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conversations with case workers, emergency grievances, etc., wherein he requested to review his medical
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records and confidential discovery.
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The Defendants state they "have made arrangement for Plaintiff to view his discovery in the law
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library instead of a case worker's office." (Id.) The delay in implementing this review procedure may
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very well be, as Defendants stated, that Plaintiff may not be making "allowance for the time it takes for
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his correspondence to be processed by the facility and mailed out and then received by the Attorney
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General's Office, processed, and responded to." (Doc. # 77 at 3.) Whatever the explanation, however,
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it appears the Attorney General's intervention is necessary to ensure Plaintiff is afforded the opportunity
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to review confidential discovery not provided directly to Plaintiff. The Attorney General's Office shall
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also ensure Plaintiff has a reasonable opportunity to view any case documents maintained in the
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Warden's Office.
The remaining components of Plaintiff's Motion to Inform and Motion to Inquire (Doc. # 81) will
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be addressed at a subsequent status conference.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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DATED: August 4, 2014.
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_____________________________________
WILLIAM G. COBB
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
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