Reed v. State of Washington et al

Filing 15

ORDER granting 9 Motion to Amend complaint. Plaintiff shall file his amended complaint, setting forth all of his factual claims, causes of action, claims for relief, and any exhibits, on or before 7/16/10. Signed by Magistrate Judge Karen L Strombom.(CMG; cc to Plaintiff)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Before the court is Plaintiff's motion to amend his complaint. Dkt. 9. Defendants have filed their answer to the original complaint. Dkt. 8. Defendants filed no opposition to Plaintiff's motion to amend. DISCUSSION Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (AFed. R. Civ. P.@) 15(a), A[a] party may amend the party=s pleading once as a matter of course at any time before a responsive pleading is served.@ Otherwise, the party Amay amend the party=s pleading only by leave of court or by written consent of the adverse party.@ Id. Leave to amend Ashall be freely given when justice so requires,@ and Athis policy is to be applied with extreme liberality.@ Id.; Morongo Band of Mission Indians v. Rose, 893 F.2d 1074, 1079 (9th Cir. 1990). After a responsive pleading has been filed, Aleave to amend should be granted unless amendment would cause prejudice to the v. STATE OF WASHINGTON, et al., Defendants. UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISCTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT TACOMA CHARLES VINCENT REED, Plaintiff, NO. C10-5146 BHS/KLS ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION TO AMEND AND DIRECTING PLAINTIFF TO SUBMIT COMPLETE AMENDED COMPLAINT

ORDER

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opposing party, is sought in bad faith, is futile, or creates undue delay.@ Martinez v. Newport Beach City, 125 F.3d 777, 786 (9th Cir. 1997). Plaintiff proposes to amend his complaint to withdraw the State of Washington as a defendant. He proposes no other changes to the complaint. Dkt. 9, p. 2. Attached to his motion to amend is the first page of an "Amended Complaint," reflecting the change in parties. Dkt. 9-2. Plaintiff served Defendants with the motion and proposed complaint. Dkt. 9-3. Defendants filed no opposition to the proposed complaint. There is no evidence that the proposed amendment will cause prejudice to the Defendants, that it is sought in bad faith, is futile, or will create undue delay. However, Plaintiff is advised that an amended complaint operates as a complete substitute for (rather than a mere supplement to) the present complaint. In other words, an amended complaint supersedes the original in its entirety, making the original as if it never existed. Therefore, reference to another document is not an acceptable amendment. Plaintiff must include all of his factual allegations, legal claims, exhibits and requests for relief in an amended complaint before this case can proceed on the amended complaint. Accordingly, it is ORDERED that Plaintiff's motion to amend his complaint (Dkt. 9) is GRANTED. Plaintiff shall file his amended complaint, setting forth all of his factual claims, causes of action, claims for relief, and any exhibits, on or before July 16, 2010. The Clerk is directed to send Plaintiff the appropriate forms so that he may file an amended complaint. DATED this 21st day of June, 2010.

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Karen L. Strombom United States Magistrate Judge

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