Opinion
No. CV 06-0557-PHX-PGR (ECV).
May 18, 2006
ORDER
Pending before the court are Plaintiff's Motion to Amend Complaint (Doc. #5) and Motion to Waive Filing Fees and All Future Court Costs (Doc. #6).
Rule 15(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure allows a party to amend his pleading "once as a matter of course at any time before a responsive pleading is served. . . ." No responsive pleadings have been filed in this case, although Defendant's answer is due on May 26, 2006. Therefore, until the answer is filed, Plaintiff is free to amend his complaint without the court's permission. After the answer is filed, Plaintiff must seek permission from the court and provide reasons to support the request. Here, because Plaintiff is free to file an amended complaint at this stage without the court's permission, the court will grant his motion. Plaintiff is cautioned, however, that an amended complaint must contain all the claims he intends to raise and name all the defendants against whom the claims are alleged. The amended complaint may not contain only the new claims and defendants. It must also include the claims and defendants from the original complaint that Plaintiff still intends to pursue.
Plaintiff's motion to waive the filing fee and future costs will be denied. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(1), a prisoner who brings a civil action in forma pauperis is still required to pay the filing fee in full. As the District Court explained in its Order for Payment of Inmate Filing Fee, payments are to be made from the Plaintiff's inmate trust account each time the amount in the account exceeds $10.00, until the fee is paid in full. Doc. #4 (citing 28 U.S.C. § 1915(b)(2)).
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED:
That Plaintiff's Motion to Amend Original Complaint (Doc. #5) is granted; and
That Plaintiff's Motion to Waive Filing Fees and All Future Court Costs (Doc. #6) is denied.