Opinion
No. CV 1-08-636-ROS.
February 3, 2010
ORDER
Plaintiff Jose Luis Buenrostro, who is confined in the Federal Correctional Institution-Victorville, filed a pro se civil rights Complaint pursuant to Bivens v. Six Unknown Narcotics Agents, 403 U.S. 388 (1971) (Doc. #1). On June 9, 2008, Plaintiff filed "Amended and Supplemental Pleadings to this Bivens Civil Action Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.Procedures, Rule 15(a), (d)" (Doc. #6). By Order filed October 6, 2009, the Court construed this document as an Amended Complaint and dismissed the Amended Complaint with leave to amend.
On October 26, 2009, Plaintiff filed a Second Amended Complaint (Doc. #14). The Court will dismiss the Second Amended Complaint with leave amend. This will be Plaintiff's final opportunity to file an amended complaint that complies with the Court's filing requirements.
I. Statutory Screening of Prisoner Complaints
The Court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a governmental entity or an officer or an employee of a governmental entity. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). The Court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if a plaintiff has raised claims that are legally frivolous or malicious, that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or that seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(b)(1), (2).
A pleading must contain a "short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2) (emphasis added). While Rule 8 does not demand detailed factual allegations, "it demands more than an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation." Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. 1937, 1949 (2009). "Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice." Id.
"[A] complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to 'state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.'" Id. (quoting Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007)). A claim is plausible "when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Id. "Determining whether a complaint states a plausible claim for relief [is] . . . a context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial experience and common sense." Id. at 1950. Thus, although a plaintiff's specific factual allegations may be consistent with a constitutional claim, a court must assess whether there are other "more likely explanations" for a defendant's conduct. Id. at 1951.
If the Court determines that a pleading could be cured by the allegation of other facts, a pro se litigant is entitled to an opportunity to amend a complaint before dismissal of the action.See Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1127-29 (9th Cir. 2000) ( en banc). The Court should not, however, advise the litigant how to cure the defects. This type of advice "would undermine district judges' role as impartial decisionmakers." Pliler v. Ford, 542 U.S. 225, 231 (2004); see also Lopez, 203 F.3d at 1131 n. 13 (declining to decide whether the court was required to inform a litigant of deficiencies). Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint will be dismissed for failure to state a claim, with leave to amend because the Second Amended Complaint may possibly be saved by further amendment.
Rule 8(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure requires a "short and plain statement of the claim." Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2). Rule 8(d)(1) states that "[e]ach allegation must be simple, concise, and direct." A complaint having the factual elements of a cause of action scattered throughout the complaint and not organized into a "short and plain statement of the claim" may be dismissed for failure to satisfy Rule 8(a). See Sparling v. Hoffman Constr. Co., 864 F.2d 635, 640 (9th Cir. 1988); see also McHenry v. Renne, 84 F.3d 1172 (9th Cir. 1996). Rule 10(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure also requires a plaintiff to state claims in "numbered paragraphs, each limited as far as practicable to a single set of circumstances." Fed.R.Civ.P. 10(b). Moreover, "[i]f doing so would promote clarity, each claim founded on a separate transaction or occurrence . . . must be stated in a separate count." Fed.R.Civ.P. 10(b). It is not the responsibility of the Court to review a rambling narrative in an attempt to determine the number and nature of a plaintiff's claims.
The Court has reviewed Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint and concludes that it fails to comply with Rules 8 and 10 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Like the Amended Complaint, Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint is a lengthy narrative that does not separate Plaintiff's allegations into separate claims for relief. Plaintiff has simply provided a long recitation of facts followed by a conclusory claim for relief. The Court cannot meaningfully review the Second Amended Complaint, as required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). Accordingly, the Court will dismiss the Second Amended Complaint with leave to amend.
II. Leave to Amend
For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint will be dismissed for failure to comply with Rules 8 and 10 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Within 30 days, Plaintiff may submit a third amended complaint on the form provided with this Order. If Plaintiff fails to use the form provided with this Order, the Court may strike the third amended complaint and dismiss this action without further notice to Plaintiff.
Plaintiff must clearly designate on the face of the document that it is the "Third Amended Complaint." The third amended complaint must be retyped or rewritten in its entirety on the form provided with this Order and may not incorporate any part of the original Complaint, First Amended Complaint, or Second Amended Complaint by reference.
Plaintiff must comply with the instructions provided with the form. Plaintiff should pay close attention to the instructions provided with the form. If Plaintiff fails to comply with the instructions provided with the form, the Court may strike the third amended complaint and dismiss this action without further notice to Plaintiff.
Among other requirements contained in the instructions, Plaintiff must provide information in a third amended complaint regarding the Court's jurisdiction and the defendants, and he must divide his lawsuit into separate counts. In the separate counts, Plaintiff must write short, plain statements telling the Court: (1) the constitutional right Plaintiff believes was violated; (2) name of the Defendant who violated the right; (3) exactly what that Defendant did or failed to do; (4) how the action or inaction of that Defendant is connected to the violation of Plaintiff's constitutional right; and (5) what specific injury Plaintiff suffered because of that Defendant's conduct. Rizzo v. Goode, 423 U.S. 362, 371-72, 377 (1976).
A third amended complaint supersedes the original complaint, first amended complaint, and second amended complaint. Ferdik v. Bonzelet, 963 F.2d 1258, 1262 (9th Cir. 1992); Hal Roach Studios v. Richard Feiner Co., 896 F.2d 1542, 1546 (9th Cir. 1990). After amendment, the Court will treat an original complaint, first amended complaint, and second amended complaint as nonexistent. Ferdik, 963 F.2d at 1262. Any cause of action that was raised in the original complaint, first amended complaint, or second amended complaint is waived if it is not raised in a third amended complaint. King v. Atiyeh, 814 F.2d 565, 567 (9th Cir. 1987).
III. Warnings
A. Address Changes
Plaintiff must file and serve a notice of a change of address in accordance with Rule 83-182(f) and 83-183(b) of the Local Rules of Civil Procedure. Plaintiff must not include a motion for other relief with a notice of change of address. Failure to comply may result in dismissal of this action.
B. Copies
Plaintiff must submit an additional copy of every filing for use by the Court. See LRCiv 5-133(d)(2). Failure to comply may result in the filing being stricken without further notice to Plaintiff.
C. Possible Dismissal
If Plaintiff fails to timely comply with every provision of this Order, including these warnings, the Court may dismiss this action without further notice. See Ferdik, 963 F.2d at 1260-61 (a district court may dismiss an action for failure to comply with any order of the Court).
IT IS ORDERED:
(1) Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint (Doc. #14) is dismissed for failure to comply with Rules 8 and 10 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Plaintiff has 30 days from the date this Order is filed to file a third amended complaint in compliance with this Order.
(2) If Plaintiff fails to file a third amended complaint within 30 days, the Clerk of Court must, without further notice, enter a judgment of dismissal of this action with prejudice.
(3) The Clerk of Court must include with this Order a copy of this judge's required form for filing a civil rights complaint by a prisoner. 42 U.S.C. § 1983 I. Previous Lawsuits (list all other previous or pending lawsuits on back of this form) II. Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies ALL NOTICE: 42 U.S.C. § 1983 42 U.S.C. § 1997ebefore Booth v. Churner 532 U.S. 731 741 McKinney v. Carey 311 F.3d 1198 1999 Even if you are seeking only money damages and the inmate appeal or administrative remedy process does not provide money, you must exhaust the process before filing suit. Booth 532 U.S. at 734 III. Defendants IV. Statement of Claim facts V. Relief.
Plaintiff's Name _________________ Inmate No. _______________________ Address __________________________ __________________________________ __________________________________ IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA _______________________________________________________________ (Name of Plaintiff) (Case Number) vs. AMENDED COMPLAINT ________________________________ Civil Rights Act, ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ ________________________________ (Names of all Defendants) : A. Have you brought any other lawsuits while a prisoner? Yes __ No __ B. If your answer to A is yes, how many? ______________ Describe previous or pending lawsuits in the space below. (If more than one, use back of paper to continue outlining all lawsuits.) 1. Parties to previous lawsuit: Plaintiff ___________________________________________ Defendants __________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________ _____________________ 2. Court (if Federal Court, give name of District; if State Court, give name of County) ____________________________________________________ 3. Docket Number ________________ 4. Assigned Judge _______________________ 5. Disposition (For example: Was the case dismissed? Was it appealed? Is it still pending?) _________________________________________________________________________________________ 6. Filing date (approx.) ________________ 7. Disposition date (approx.) ___________ A. Is there an inmate appeal or administrative remedy process available at your institution? Yes ___ No ___ B. Have you filed an appeal or grievance concerning of the facts contained in this complaint? Yes ___ No ___ If your answer is no, explain why not_____________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ C. Is the process completed? Yes ___ If your answer is yes, briefly explain what happened at each level. __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ No ___ If your answer is no, explain why not. __________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Pursuant to the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995, "[n]o action shall be brought with respect to prison conditions under [], or any other Federal law, by a prisoner confined in any jail, prison, or other correctional facility until such administrative remedies as are available are exhausted." (a). If there is an inmate appeal or administrative remedy process available at your institution, you may not file an action under Section 1983, or any other federal law, until you have first completed (exhausted) the process available at your institution. You are required to complete (exhaust) the inmate appeal or administrative remedy process filing suit, regardless of the relief offered by the process. , , (2001); , , (9th Cir. 2002). , . (In Item A below, place the full name of the defendant in the first blank, his/her official position in the second blank, and his/her place of employment in the third blank. Use item B for the names, positions and places of employment of any additional defendants.) A. Defendant ______________________ is employed as __________________________________________ _____________________ at ____________________________________________________________ B. Additional defendants ____________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________ (State here as briefly as possible the of your case. Describe how each defendant is involved, including dates and places. Do not give any legal arguments or cite any cases or statutes. Attach extra sheets if necessary.) _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________ (State briefly exactly what you want the court to do for you. Make no legal arguments. Cite no cases or statutes.) _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Date ________________ Signature of Plaintiff ____________________________________________________