Law v. Mooney

Background

Carlos Gilbert Law filed this civil-rights action without a lawyer under 42 U.S.C. § 1983, a federal law that permits certain claims against state or local officials. On November 13, 2023, the court screened the original complaint. It found a cognizable claim—one legally sufficient to proceed—against San Francisco Police Department Officer Balingit. It dismissed the claims against Officers Mooney and Russak and the claim against the City and County of San Francisco, but allowed Law to amend those claims.

Amended complaint

Law filed an amended complaint on November 16, 2023. Although the amended complaint named Officer Balingit in its caption, its body stated a claim only against Officer Mooney. The court explained that naming someone only in the caption is not enough to state a claim against that person. It also explained that an amended complaint completely replaces earlier complaints. Based on the filing, the court stated that the amended complaint waived the cognizable claims against Officer Balingit and that Balingit would no longer be a defendant.

Order

Because the court was uncertain whether Law intended to give up his claims against Balingit, it ordered him to inform the court within 28 days whether he wished to proceed with the amended complaint. If he chose to proceed, the court would screen the amended complaint at that time. The court further stated that any second amended complaint must include every claim, defendant, and request for relief that Law wished to pursue, including matters raised in earlier complaints, and could not incorporate earlier pleadings by reference.

Classification and effect

This was a procedural order concerning amendment and screening of the pleadings. It did not decide the underlying civil-rights claim on the merits. The order addressed which claims and defendants would appear in a complaint that the court would later screen.