Opinion
Civil Action No. 08-cv-00498-LTB-BNB.
July 22, 2008
ORDER
This matter is before me on Plaintiff's Amended Complaint and Jury Trial Demand [Doc. # 46, filed 7/15/08]. The proposed amended complaint is STRICKEN.
Rule 15, Fed.R.Civ.P., provides that a complaint may be amended once as a matter of course if a responsive pleading has not been served. Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(a)(1)(A). "In all other cases, a party may amend its pleading only with the opposing party's written consent or the court's leave." Id. at 15(a)(2).
Here, the defendants have served a responsive pleading [Doc. #12]. The plaintiff has not demonstrated consent from the opposing parties, nor has he obtained leave of court to amend his complaint. Therefore, the plaintiff must either obtain consent from the defendants or file a motion seeking leave of Court to amend his Complaint. If the plaintiff seeks leave of Court to amend, his motion must detail the proposed amendments and the reasons why such amendments are necessary. The plaintiff must attach a proposed amended complaint, entitled "Amended Complaint," to the motion. The plaintiff may not incorporate his original Complaint into the proposed amended complaint. The proposed amended complaint must stand alone; it must contain all of the plaintiff's claims.
In addition, I note that the proposed amended complaint is typed in small font, is single-spaced, and contains arguments and superfluous allegations. Under the local rules of this Court, all typewritten papers shall be double-spaced and not less than 12-point font. D.C.COLO.LCivR 10.1D and E. Rule 8(a), Fed.R.Civ.P., requires a short and plain statement of the claim(s) which show that the plaintiff is entitled to relief. The philosophy of Rule 8(a) is reinforced by Rule 8(e)(1), which provides that "[e]ach averment of a pleading shall be simple, concise, and direct." Taken together, Rules 8(a) and (e)(1) underscore the emphasis placed on clarity and brevity by the federal pleading rules. It is not appropriate to provide superfluous allegations or argument in a complaint.
For example, the proposed amended complaint contains a section entitled "Defendants Are Not Entitled to Qualified Immunity Because Coerced Witness Statements Nullify That Immunity." This section is followed by a full page of argument with legal citations.
IT IS ORDERED that the proposed amended complaint is STRICKEN.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that any future proposed amended complaint shall comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the local rules of this Court, and this Order.