Cochrane v. Nevada Department of Corrections et al

Filing 11

ORDER deferring decision on 7 IFP application; granting 1 -2 Motion for Copywork Extension in the amount of $5.00 (copy of order sent to NDOC Chief of Inmate Services); granting 5 Motion Requesting a Complete Cop y...; denying as moot 6 Motion for Enlargement of Time; denying 8 Motion for Leave to File Supplemental Complaint; giving Plaintiff 30 days to file amended complaint; directing Clerk to send Plaintiff 1983 form, instructions, and copies of his original and supplemental complaints (mailed 3/24/2016). Signed by Judge Miranda M. Du on 3/24/2016. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - KR)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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DISTRICT OF NEVADA

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***

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TERRY R. COCHRANE,

Case No. 3:15-cv-00522-MMD-VPC

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Plaintiff,

ORDER

v.
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NEVADA DEPARTMENT OF
CORRECTIONS, et al.,

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Defendants.

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I.

DISCUSSION

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Plaintiff, who is a prisoner in the custody of the Nevada Department of

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Corrections (“NDOC”), has submitted an amended civil rights complaint pursuant to 42

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U.S.C. § 1983 and has filed an application to proceed in forma pauperis, a motion

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requesting a copy work extension, a motion requesting a copy of Plaintiff’s complaint, a

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motion for enlargement of time to file his application to proceed in forma pauperis, and a

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motion for leave to file a supplemental complaint. (Dkt. no. 1-1, 1-2, 5, 6, 7, and 8.)

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A.

Amended Complaint

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Plaintiff may amend his complaint once as a matter of right pursuant to Federal

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Rule of Civil Procedure 15. An amended complaint, however, supersedes the original

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complaint and must be complete in itself. See Hal Roach Studios, Inc. v. Richard Feiner

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& Co., Inc., 896 F.2d 1542, 1546 (9th Cir. 1989) (holding that “[t]he fact that a party was

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named in the original complaint is irrelevant; an amended pleading supersedes the

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original”). Plaintiff’s amended complaint must contain all claims, defendants, and factual

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allegations that Plaintiff wishes to pursue in this lawsuit. Moreover, Plaintiff must file the

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amended complaint on this Court’s approved prisoner civil rights form and it must be

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entitled “First Amended Complaint.”

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The supplement Plaintiff attached to his motion for leave to file supplemental

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complaint adds information to count I of Plaintiff’s original complaint and is not complete

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in itself. (Dkt. no. 8 at 1.) Plaintiff asks the Court to combine his original complaint with

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his supplemental complaint and asserts that he was unable to do so himself because

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the original complaint contains original documents, such as supporting exhibits for two

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counts. (Id.) In order to avoid confusion and for clarity of the record, the Court will not

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consider the two separate documents as one complaint. Instead, the Court will provide

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Plaintiff with an opportunity to amend his complaint and provide him with a copy of his

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original complaint and his supplemental complaint so that he may combine the two into

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one cohesive complaint.

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If Plaintiff chooses to file an amended complaint, he must file the amended

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complaint within thirty (30) days from the date of entry of this order. If Plaintiff chooses

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not to file an amended complaint, the Court will screen Plaintiff’s original complaint (dkt.

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no. 1-1) and not consider Plaintiff’s supplemental complaint. (Dkt. no. 8-1).

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B.

Motion for Copy Work Extension

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Plaintiff has filed a motion to extend his copy work limit in order to generate

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copies for this case. (Dkt. no. 1-2). An inmate has no constitutional right to free

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photocopying. Johnson v. Moore, 948 F.2d 517, 521 (9th Cir. 1991). Pursuant to NDOC

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administrative regulation 722.01(7)(D), inmates “can only accrue a maximum of $100

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debt for copy work expenses for all cases, not per case.” In this district, courts have

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found that they can order a prison to provide limited photocopying when it is necessary

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for an inmate to provide copies to the court and other parties. See Allen v. Clark Cnty.

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Det. Ctr., 2:10-CV_00857-RLH, 2011 WL 886343, *2 (D. Nev. Mar. 11, 2011). In this

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case, the Court grants Plaintiff’s request to extend his copy work account limit by

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another $5.00.
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II.

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CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, it is ordered that a decision on the application to

proceed in forma pauperis (dkt. no. 7) is deferred.

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It is further ordered that Plaintiff’s motion requesting copy work extension (dkt.

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no. 1-2) is granted in the amount of $5.00. The Nevada Department of Corrections will

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extend Plaintiff’s prison copy work limit by another $5.00.
It is further ordered that Plaintiff’s motion requesting a complete copy of Plaintiff’s

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complaint and attached exhibits (dkt. no. 5) is granted.
It is further ordered that Plaintiff’s motion for enlargement of time (dkt. no. 6) is

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denied as moot.
It is further ordered that Plaintiff’s motion for leave to file supplemental complaint

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(dkt. no. 8) is denied.

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It is further ordered that if Plaintiff chooses to file an amended complaint, Plaintiff

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must file the amended complaint within thirty (30) days from the date of entry of this

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order.

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It is further ordered that the Clerk of the Court send to Plaintiff the approved form

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for filing a § 1983 complaint, instructions for the same, a copy of his original complaint

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(dkt. no. 1-1), and a copy of his supplemental complaint (dkt. no. 8-1). If Plaintiff

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chooses to file an amended complaint, he must use the approved form and write the

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words “First Amended” above the words “Civil Rights Complaint” in the caption.

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It is further ordered that if Plaintiff chooses not to file an amended complaint, the

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Court will screen Plaintiff’s original complaint (dkt. no. 1-1) and not consider Plaintiff’s

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supplemental complaint. (Dkt. no. 8-1).

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DATED THIS 24th day of March, 2015.

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MIRANDA M. DU
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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