Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-2_24-cv-00258/USCOURTS-caed-2_24-cv-00258-3/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 550
Nature of Suit: Prisoner - Civil Rights (U.S. defendant)
Cause of Action: 42:1983 Prisoner Civil Rights

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

DARREN K. KAWAMOTO, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

PATRICK COVELLO, et al., 

Defendants. 

No. 2:24-cv-0258 SCR P 

ORDER 

 Plaintiff, a state prisoner proceeding pro se, filed this civil rights action under 42 U.S.C. 

§1983. Before the court is plaintiff’s complaint for screening and his motion to proceed in forma 

pauperis. For the reasons set forth below, the court grants plaintiff’s motion to proceed in forma 

pauperis and dismisses plaintiff’s complaint with leave to file an amended complaint. 

IN FORMA PAUPERIS 

Plaintiff has submitted a declaration that makes the showing required by 28 U.S.C. 

§1915(a). Accordingly, the request to proceed in forma pauperis will be granted. 

 Plaintiff is required to pay the statutory filing fee of $350.00 for this action. 28 U.S.C. 

§§1914(a), 1915(b)(1). By this order, plaintiff will be assessed an initial partial filing fee in 

accordance with the provisions of 28 U.S.C. §1915(b)(1). By separate order, the court will direct 

the appropriate agency to collect the initial partial filing fee from plaintiff’s trust account and 

forward it to the Clerk of the Court. Thereafter, plaintiff will be obligated for monthly payments 

Case 2:24-cv-00258-SCR Document 22 Filed 09/18/24 Page 1 of 3
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of twenty percent of the preceding month’s income credited to plaintiff’s prison trust account. 

These payments will be forwarded by the appropriate agency to the Clerk of the Court each time 

the amount in plaintiff’s account exceeds $10.00, until the filing fee is paid in full. 28 U.S.C. 

§1915(b)(2). 

SCREENING 

 The court is required to screen complaints brought by prisoners seeking relief against a 

governmental entity or an officer or employee of a governmental entity. See 28 U.S.C. 

§1915A(a). The court must dismiss a complaint or portion thereof if the prisoner has raised 

claims that are legally “frivolous or malicious,” that fail to state a claim upon which relief may be 

granted, or that seek monetary relief from a defendant who is immune from such relief. See 28 

U.S.C. §1915A(b)(1) & (2). 

 Plaintiff initiated this action by filing a complaint. (ECF No. 1.) Before the complaint 

was screened, plaintiff filed two amended complaints. (ECF Nos. 7, 19.) Once plaintiff files an 

amended complaint, the prior pleading is superseded. See E.D. Cal. R. 220 (an amended pleading 

must be “complete in itself without reference to the prior . . . pleading”). Therefore, this court 

considers plaintiff’s most recent complaint, the second amended complaint filed July 1, 2024, for 

screening. 

The second amended complaint is incomplete. Plaintiff recognizes that fact. He asks 

whether it is permissible to file a “partial amendment” or whether he should file a new amended 

complaint. (See ECF No. 19 at 12.) Pursuant to Local Rule 220, a “partial amendment” is not 

permissible. Plaintiff must file a complete, amended complaint if he wishes to proceed with this 

action. 

 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that 

 1. Plaintiff’s request for leave to proceed in forma pauperis (ECF No. 2) is granted. 

2. Plaintiff is obligated to pay the statutory filing fee of $350.00 for this action. Plaintiff 

is assessed an initial partial filing fee in accordance with the provisions of 28U.S.C. §1915(b)(1). 

All fees shall be collected and paid in accordance with this court’s order to the Director of the 

California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation filed concurrently herewith. 

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 3. Plaintiff’s second amended complaint (ECF No. 19) is dismissed with leave to amend. 

4. Plaintiff is granted thirty days from the date of service of this order to file an amended 

complaint that complies with the requirements of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the 

Local Rules of Practice. The amended complaint must bear the docket number assigned this case 

and must be labeled “Third Amended Complaint.” Failure to file an amended complaint in 

accordance with this order may result in a recommendation that this action be dismissed. 

5. The Clerk of the Court is directed to send plaintiff a copy of the prisoner complaint 

form used in this district. 

Dated: September 16, 2024 

Case 2:24-cv-00258-SCR Document 22 Filed 09/18/24 Page 3 of 3