Lloyd v. Yankey et al

Filing 77

ORDER granting 68 Plaintiff's Motion to Amend, signed by Magistrate Judge Karen L Strombom. P. McClan is substituted for Nurse Practitioner John Doe on the docket and Plaintiff's allegations against P. McClan shall be subject to Defendants' motion for summary judgment 55 . (GMR- cc: pltf)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT TACOMA

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LARRY LLOYD,
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CASE NO. C12-5913 RJB/KLS

Plaintiff,
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v.
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BRIAN YANKEY, JOHN DOE, P.A.
JOHNSON, BRUCE KALER, SUE
STEVEN,

ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO
AMEND COMPLAINT TO NAME
JOHN DOE DEFENDANT

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Defendants.
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Before the Court is Plaintiff’s motion for leave to amend his civil rights complaint to

14 correctly name “John Doe” as Nurse Practitioner P. McClan. ECF No. 68. Defendants do not
15 object to the amendment so long as the party formerly identified by the Plaintiff as Nurse
16 Practitioner John Doe, whom he seeks to identify as “P. McClan” is considered subject to
17 Defendants’ motion for summary judgment filed on June 28, 2013 and currently noted for
18 September 20, 2013 (ECF No. 55). ECF No. 74. Having reviewed the motion, Defendants’
19 response, and balance of the record, the Court finds that the motion should be granted.
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BACKGROUND
Plaintiff filed his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 civil rights complaint in this case on October 15,

22 2012. ECF No. 4. Defendants filed their answer on January 28, 2013, and a Pretrial Scheduling
23 Order was issued by the Court on February 1, 2013. ECF Nos. 22 and 24, respectively. In his
24 complaint, Plaintiff contends that Nurse Practitioner John Doe violated his rights to adequate

ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO AMEND- 1

1 medical treatment and care when she delayed and denied immediate medical attention of an
2 injury to his right hand pinky finger after Plaintiff was allegedly assaulted by another inmate on
3 July 30, 2012 at the King County Jail. ECF No. 4 at p. 7. Plaintiff further contends that Nurse
4 Practitioner John Doe seriously delayed his medical treatment and follow-up, i.e, doctor visit and
5 x-rays of his injury, without justification. Id.
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Plaintiff contends that the identity of Nurse Practitioner John Doe was disclosed as “P.

7 McClan” on a chart note dated July 30, 2012, which is part of Exhibit 1 attached to Karen
8 Kaperick’s Declaration submitted in support of Defendants’ motion for summary judgment.
9 ECF No. 55-1, Exhibit 1. Plaintiff submits that his claims against Nurse Practitioner P. McClan
10 are alleged and relate back to the allegations set forth in his original complaint. ECF No. 68 at p.
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DISCUSSION
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a) provides that leave to amend “shall be freely given

14 when justice so requires.” In considering whether to grant or deny a motion seeking leave to
15 amend a complaint, the court may consider whether there is bad faith, undue delay, prejudice to
16 the opposing party, futility in the amendment, and whether plaintiff has previously amended his
17 complaint. See Allen v. City of Beverly Hills, 911 F.2d 367, 373 (9th Cir.1990).
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Defendants agree that the amendment proposed by Plaintiff is reasonable and concur that

19 the nurse practitioner previously identified as “John Doe” may now be identified as “P.
20 McClan.” ECF No. 74 at pp. 4-5. However, Defendants contend that Plaintiff’s allegations
21 against P. McClan, formerly asserted against Nurse Practitioner John Doe, should be considered
22 subject to Defendants’ motion for summary judgment (ECF No. 55). Id. at p. 5.
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ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO AMEND- 2

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Accordingly, it is ORDERED:

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(1)

Plaintiff’s motion to amend (ECF No. 68) is GRANTED. The Clerk is directed

3 to substitute P. McClan for Nurse Practitioner John Doe on the docket. Plaintiff’s allegations
4 against P. McClan shall be subject to Defendants’ motion for summary judgment (ECF No. 55).
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(2)

The Clerk shall send a copy of this Order to Plaintiff and to counsel for

6 Defendants.
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DATED this 19th day of August, 2013.

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A

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Karen L. Strombom
United States Magistrate Judge

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ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO AMEND- 3