Terry v. Dorsey
- Beth Freeman
- 5:20-cv-07859
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Terry v. Dorsey, Judge Freeman granted Terry 28 more days to amend his dismissed civil-rights complaint, warning the action would otherwise be dismissed without prejudice.
Billy G. Terry, who received additional time and forms to file an amended complaint; the case could be dismissed without prejudice if he did not respond on time.
What happened
In Terry v. Dorsey, the plaintiff, a state inmate representing himself, brought a civil-rights case under a federal law, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, against prison staff at San Quentin State Prison. The court had dismissed his complaint but allowed him 28 days to file an amended complaint.
That deadline passed without an amended complaint. The plaintiff had notified the court that he had moved from San Quentin State Prison to Chino State Prison, and the court could not tell whether its earlier order had been sent to his new address.
Judge Beth Labson Freeman granted the plaintiff an additional 28 days to file an amended complaint and ordered the clerk to send him the earlier order and complaint forms. The court warned that failing to respond would result in dismissal of the action without prejudice and without further notice.
The detailed version
- Terry v. Dorsey · No. 5:20-cv-07859
- Beth Freeman
- May 4, 2021
Background
Billy G. Terry, a state inmate representing himself, filed a civil-rights action under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against prison staff at San Quentin State Prison. On March 19, 2021, the court dismissed his complaint but allowed him to file an amended complaint within 28 days.
The deadline passed, and Terry did not file an amended complaint. The docket showed that Terry had filed notices stating that he had been moved from San Quentin State Prison to Chino State Prison. The court could not determine whether the earlier dismissal order had been sent to Terry's former address or his current address.
Ruling
The court granted Terry an extension of time to file an amended complaint. He had 28 days from the filing date of this order to correct the deficiencies identified in the earlier dismissal order. The court required the amended complaint to use the case caption and civil case number listed in the order and to include the words “AMENDED COMPLAINT” on its first page.
The court explained that an amended complaint replaces the original complaint. Claims and defendants omitted from the amended complaint would no longer be part of the action. The clerk was ordered to send Terry a copy of the earlier order, two copies of the court's complaint form, and a petition form along with this order.
The court warned that failing to respond within the time provided would result in dismissal of the action without prejudice and without further notice. This order addressed the filing deadline and delivery of the earlier order; it did not decide the underlying civil-rights claims.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.