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Downey v. Trenary

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE
Aug 25, 2017
Case No. C17-1024-JCC-MAT (W.D. Wash. Aug. 25, 2017)

Opinion

Case No. C17-1024-JCC-MAT

08-25-2017

DYLAN JAMES DOWNEY, Plaintiff, v. TY TRENARY, et al., Defendants.


ORDER STRIKING PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE AN AMENDED COMPLAINT

This is a civil rights action brought under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. This matter comes before the Court at the present time on plaintiff's motion for leave to file an amended complaint. Plaintiff indicates in his motion that he is seeking to add to his complaint new defendants, language regarding supplemental jurisdiction, facts supporting his claims, and clarification regarding exhaustion of administrative remedies. (See Dkt. 9.) At this stage of the proceedings, plaintiff's motion is unnecessary because defendants have yet to file a responsive pleading and, thus, leave of court is not required for plaintiff to amend his complaint. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(1). Moreover, even if leave of court were required for plaintiff to amend at this juncture, plaintiff's motion is deficient because he failed to submit with his motion a proposed amended complaint. See LCR 15.

If plaintiff wishes to amend his complaint, he must submit an actual amended pleading and not simply a list of proposed changes to his original pleading. Plaintiff is advised that if he chooses to file an amended pleading, that pleading will operate as a complete substitute for his original pleading. See Ferdik v. Bonzelet, 963 F.2d 1258, 1262 (9th Cir.) (citing Hal Roach Studios, Inc. v. Richard Feiner & Co., Inc., 896 F.2d 1542, 1546 (9th Cir. 1990) (as amended), cert. denied, 506 U.S. 915 (1992). Reference to a prior pleading or another document is unacceptable -- once an amended complaint is filed, the original pleading no longer serves any function. Thus, any amended complaint should clearly identify all intended defendant(s), the constitutional claim(s) asserted, the specific facts which plaintiff believes support each and every claim, and the specific relief requested.

Based on the foregoing, the Court hereby Orders as follows:

(1) Plaintiff's motion for leave to file an amended complaint (Dkt. 9) is STRICKEN.

(2) The Clerk is directed to send plaintiff the appropriate forms so that he may file an amended complaint. The Clerk is further directed to send copies of this Order to plaintiff and to the Honorable John C. Coughenour.

DATED this 25th day of August, 2017.

/s/_________

Mary Alice Theiler

United States Magistrate Judge


Summaries of

Downey v. Trenary

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE
Aug 25, 2017
Case No. C17-1024-JCC-MAT (W.D. Wash. Aug. 25, 2017)
Case details for

Downey v. Trenary

Case Details

Full title:DYLAN JAMES DOWNEY, Plaintiff, v. TY TRENARY, et al., Defendants.

Court:UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE

Date published: Aug 25, 2017

Citations

Case No. C17-1024-JCC-MAT (W.D. Wash. Aug. 25, 2017)