ORDER

RANER COLLINS, District Judge

Plaintiff Jason Saunders, who is confined in the California Substance Abuse and Treatment Facility in Corcoran, California, has filed a pro se Second Amended Civil Rights Complaint. (Doc. #27.) The Court will dismiss the Second Amended Complaint with leave to amend.

I. Background.

Plaintiff filed his original Complaint on June 1, 2005. (Doc. # 1.) Before the Court screened the Complaint, Plaintiff filed a First Amended Complaint. (Doc. #9.) On November 1, 2006, United States Magistrate Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill issued an Order dismissing the First Amended Complaint for failure to state a claim and giving Plaintiff an opportunity to file a second amended complaint to cure the many deficiencies identified in the Order. (Doc. # 23.) The Order also warned Plaintiff that any second amended complaint must comply with Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure or it would be stricken. (Doc. #23 at 11.) On January 30, 2007, Plaintiff filed a Second Amended Complaint. (Doc. #27.) The case was reassigned to the undersigned judge on November 25, 2008. (Doc. # 38). The Court will dismiss the Second Amended Complaint and will provide Plaintiff with one final opportunity to amend.

II. 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). 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 with leave to amend because the deficiencies therein may possibly be cured by amendment.

A. Short and Plain Statement of the Claim.

Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint consists of 197 numbered paragraphs on 74 pages. It lists 11 claims against 90 named defendants and 25 unnamed defendants. In paragraphs 21 through 107, Plaintiff describes a diary of events that occurred between an unspecified date in 1999 and October 17, 2006. With the exception of his eleventh claim, Plaintiff's claims for relief indiscriminately incorporate all prior paragraphs in the Second Amended Complaint. Claims one through ten cannot be understood without reference to the prior factual allegations, but the claims also do not identify which of the many factual allegations apply to each specific claim. Unlike his other claims, Plaintiff's eleventh claim for relief can be tied to specific factual allegations because Plaintiff identifies the date upon which the events giving rise to the eleventh claim occurred. As will be explained below, however, Plaintiff's eleventh claim is barred by the statute of limitations.

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) provides 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 nature of a plaintiff's claims.

In Hearns v. San Bernardino Police Department, 530 F.3d 1124, 1132 (9th Cir. 2008), the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that even an excessively detailed and lengthy complaint should not be dismissed under Rule 8 if it is "intelligible and clearly delineate[s] the claims and the Defendants against whom the claims are made." The Ninth Circuit also held that a district court "has ample remedial authority to relieve a defendant of the burden of responding to a complaint with excessive factual detail [by] simply strik[ing] the surplusage . . . [or] excusi[ing] Defendants from answering those paragraphs." Id. (internal citations omitted). But those remedies are not available here because the Court cannot tell which of Plaintiff's many factual paragraphs are essential to particular claims and which are merely set forth as background. Moreover, because the Court cannot determine which facts relate to Plaintiff's specific claims for relief, it cannot meaningfully review the Second Amended Complaint, as required by 28 U.S.C. § 1915A(a). Because Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint fails to comply with Rules 8 and 10 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure it will be dismissed with leave to amend. If Plaintiff fails to cure the deficiencies identified by the Court in this Order and prior orders, the third amended complaint and this action will be dismissed with prejudice.

B. Statute of Limitations.

In the absence of waiver, the Court may raise the defense of statute of limitations sua sponte. See Levald, Inc. v. City of Palm Desert, 998 F.2d 680, 687 (9th Cir. 1993). See also Hughes v. Lott, 350 F.3d 1157, 1163 (11th Cir. 2003) (upholding sua sponte dismissal under 28 U.S.C. § 1915(e)(2)(B) of prisoner's time-barred complaint). In a § 1983 action, the applicable statute of limitations is the forum state's statute of limitations for personal injury actions. Action Apartment Ass'n, Inc. v. Santa Monica Rent Control Bd., 509 F.3d 1020, 1026 (9th Cir. 2007).

Effective January 1, 2003, the California statute of limitations for personal injury actions was extended from on year to two years. Maldonado v. Harris, 370 F.3d 945, 954-55 (9th Cir. 2004). The new two year statute of limitations, however, does not apply retroactively. Id. Accordingly, a one year statute of limitations applies to actions that accrued before January 1, 2003, and a two year statute of limitations applies to actions that accrued after that date. "Federal law determines when a civil rights claim accrues." Id. "Under federal law, a claim accrues when the plaintiff knows or has reason to know of the injury which is the basis of the action." TwoRivers v. Lewis, 174 F.3d 987, 991 (9th Cir. 1999).

The law of the forum state governs tolling. Under California law, the statute of limitations for prisoners serving less than a life sentence is tolled for two years. Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 352.1(a); Johnson v. State of California, 207 F.3d 650, 654 (9th Cir. 2000). Accordingly, the effective statute of limitations is three years for claims that accrued before January 1, 2003 (one year limitations period plus two year statutory tolling), and four years for claims that accrued thereafter (two year limitations period plus four years statutory tolling).

Plaintiff's Complaint was signed on May 29, 2005. Any of Plaintiff's claims that accrued before May 29, 2002 are, therefore, barred by the statute of limitations. It is clear from the face of the Second Amended Complaint that Plaintiff's eleventh claim for relief accrued on December 4, 2001. That claim is therefore barred by the statute of limitations. It is entirely unclear, however, whether Plaintiff's other claims are similarly barred. That is so because Plaintiff does not identify the specific events that gave rise to the other claims in his Second Amended Complaint. If Plaintiff files a third amended complaint, he must clearly connect named defendants and claims to the specific events which give rise to those claims.

III. Leave to Amend

For the foregoing reasons, Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint will be dismissed as barred by the statute of limitations, in part, and 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 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 each count, Plaintiff must identify the federal constitutional civil right allegedly violated, check the box for the issue most closely involved, state how each defendant participated in the alleged violation at issue, explain how Plaintiff was injured by the alleged violation, and mark whether Plaintiff exhausted any available administrative remedies. Plaintiff must repeat this process for each civil rights claim. Plaintiff may allege only one claim per count.

An amended complaint supersedes the original 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 prior complaints as nonexistent. Ferdik, 963 F.2d at 1262. Any cause of action that was raised in the prior complaints is waived if it is not raised in a subsequent amended complaint. King v. Atiyeh, 814 F.2d 565, 567 (9th Cir. 1987).

IV. 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) The Second Amended Complaint (Doc. #27) 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 instructions and form for filing a civil rights complaint by a prisoner.

Instructions for a Prisoner Filing a Civil Rights Complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California

2. The Form. The form must be typed or neatly handwritten. The form must be completely filled in to the extent applicable. All questions must be answered clearly and concisely in the appropriate space on the form. If needed, you may attach additional pages, but no more than fifteen additional pages, of standard letter-sized paper. You must identify which part of the complaint is being continued and number all pages. If you do not fill out the form properly, you will be asked to submit additional or corrected information, which may delay the processing of your action. You do not need to cite law.

3. Your Signature. You must tell the truth and sign the form. If you make a false statement of a material fact, you may be prosecuted for perjury.

4. The Filing Fee. The filing fee for this action is $350.00. If you are unable to immediately pay the filing fee, you may request leave to proceed in forma pauperis. Please review the "Information for Prisoners Seeking Leave to Proceed with a (Non-Habeas) Civil Action in Federal Court In Forma Pauperis Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915" for additional instructions.

5. Original and Judge's Copy. You must send an original plus one copy of your complaint and of any other documents submitted to the Court. You must send one additional copy to the Court if you wish to have a file-stamped copy of the document returned to you. All copies must be identical to the original. Copies may be legibly handwritten.

6. Change of Address. You must immediately notify the Court and the defendants in writing of any change in your mailing address. Failure to notify the Court of any change in your mailing address may result in the dismissal of your case.

7. Certificate of Service. You must furnish the defendants with a copy of any document you submit to the Court (except the initial complaint and application to proceed in forma pauperis). Each original document (except the initial complaint and application to proceed in forma pauperis) must include a certificate of service on the last page of the document stating the date a copy of the document was mailed to the defendants and the address to which it was mailed. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 5(a), (d). Any document received by the Court that does not include a certificate of service may be stricken. A certificate of service should be in the following form:

9. Exhibits. You should not submit exhibits with the complaint or amended complaint. Instead, the relevant information should be paraphrased. You should keep the exhibits to use to support or oppose a motion to dismiss, a motion for summary judgment, or at trial.

10. Letters and Motions. It is generally inappropriate to write a letter to any judge or the staff of any judge. The only appropriate way to communicate with the Court is by filing a written pleading or motion.

11. Completing the Civil Rights Complaint Form.

HEADING:

Part A. JURISDICTION:

1. Your Name. Print your name, prison or inmate number, and institutional mailing address on the lines provided.

2. Defendants. If there are four or fewer defendants, print the name of each. If you name more than four defendants, print the name of the first defendant on the first line, write the words "and others" on the second line, and attach an additional page listing the names of all of the defendants. Insert the additional page after page 1 and number it "1-A" at the bottom.

3. Jury Demand. If you want a jury trial, you must write "JURY TRIAL DEMANDED" in the space below "CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINT BY A PRISONER." Failure to do so may result in the loss of the right to a jury trial. A jury trial is not available if you are seeking only injunctive relief.

1. Nature of Suit. Mark whether you are filing the complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for state, county, or city defendants; "Bivens v. Six Unknown Federal Narcotics Agents" for federal defendants; or "other." If you mark "other," identify the source of that authority.

2. Location. Identify the institution and city where the alleged violation of your rights occurred.

3. Defendants. Print all of the requested information about each of the defendants in the spaces provided. If you are naming more than four defendants, you must provide the necessary information about each additional defendant on separate pages labeled "2-A," "2-B," etc., at the bottom. Insert the additional page(s) immediately behind page 2.

You must identify any other lawsuit you have filed in either state or federal court while you were a prisoner. Print all of the requested information about each lawsuit in the spaces provided. If you have filed more than three lawsuits, you must provide the necessary information about each additional lawsuit on a separate page. Label the page(s) as "2-A," "2-B," etc., at the bottom of the page and insert the additional page(s) immediately behind page 2.

Part C. CAUSE OF ACTION:

You must identify what rights each defendant violated. The form provides space to allege three separate counts ( one violation per count). If you are alleging more than three counts, you must provide the necessary information about each additional count on a separate page. Number the additional pages "5-A," "5-B," etc., and insert them immediately behind page 5. Remember that you are limited to a total of fifteen additional pages.

1. Counts. You must identify which civil right was violated. You may allege the violation of only one civil right per count.

2. Issue Involved. Check the box that most closely identifies the issue involved in your claim. You may check only one box per count. If you check the box marked "Other," you must identify the specific issue involved.

3. Supporting Facts. After you have identified which civil right was violated, you must state the supporting facts. Be as specific as possible. You must state what each individual defendant did to violate your rights. If there is more than one defendant, you must identify which defendant did what act. You also should state the date(s) on which the act(s) occurred, if possible.

4. Injury. State precisely how you were injured by the alleged violation of your rights.

5. Administrative Remedies. You must exhaust any available administrative remedies before you file a civil rights complaint. See 42 U.S.C. § 1997e. Consequently, you should disclose whether you have exhausted the inmate grievance procedures or administrative appeals for each count in your complaint. If the grievance procedures were not available for any of your counts, fully explain why on the lines provided.

Part D. REQUEST FOR RELIEF:

Print the relief you are seeking in the space provided.

SIGNATURE:

You must sign your name and print the date you signed the complaint. Failure to sign the complaint will delay the processing of your action. Unless you are an attorney, you may not bring an action on behalf of anyone but yourself.

FINAL NOTE

You should follow these instructions carefully. Failure to do so may result in your complaint being stricken or dismissed. All questions must be answered concisely in the proper space on the form. If you need more space, you may attach no more than fifteen additional pages. But the form must be completely filled in to the extent applicable. If you attach additional pages, be sure to identify which section of the complaint is being continued and number the pages. (Failure to notify the Court of your change of address may result in dismissal of this action.) IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA CASE NO. CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINT BY A PRISONER A. JURISDICTION 28 U.S.C. § 1343 42 U.S.C. § 1983 28 U.S.C. § 1331Bivens v. Six Unknown Federal Narcotics Agents 403 U.S. 388 B. DEFENDANTS If you name more than four Defendants, answer the questions listed above for each additional Defendant on a separate page. C. PREVIOUS LAWSUITS If you filed more than three lawsuits, answer the questions listed above for each additional lawsuit on a separate page. D. CAUSE OF ACTION COUNT I Count I. only one. Supporting Facts. each Defendant Injury. Administrative Remedies: COUNT II Count II. only one. Supporting Facts. each Defendant Injury. Administrative Remedies. COUNT III Count III. only one. Supporting Facts. each Defendant Injury. Administrative Remedies. If you assert more than three Counts, answer the questions listed above for each additional Count on a separate page. E. REQUEST FOR RELIEF

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