Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-4_15-cv-03834/USCOURTS-cand-4_15-cv-03834-7/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
City and County of San Francisco
Defendant
Dennis Herrera
Defendant
Kaimin Jimmy Jen
Plaintiff
Mike Klose
Defendant
Rafael Torres-Gill
Defendant

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United States District Court

Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

KAIMIN JIMMY JEN,

Plaintiff,

v.

CITY AND COUNTY OF SAN 

FRANCISCO, et al.,

Defendants.

Case No. 15-cv-03834-HSG 

ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS' 

MOTION TO DISMISS AND DENYING

DEFENDANTS' MOTION FOR MORE 

DEFINITE STATEMENT

Re: Dkt. No. 51

Pending before the Court is Defendant City and County of San Francisco, Dennis Herrera, 

Rafael Torres-Gill, and Mike Klose’s (“Defendants”) motion to dismiss Pro Se Plaintiff Kaimin 

Jen’s (“Plaintiff”) Third Amended Complaint (“TAC”). See Dkt. Nos. 49, 51. Alternatively, 

Defendants move for a more definite statement pursuant to FRCP 12(e). See Dkt. No. 51. The 

Court finds the matter appropriate for decision without oral argument, see Civil L.R. 7-1(b),

DENIES Defendants’ motion for a more definite statement, and GRANTS Defendants’ motion to 

dismiss with leave to amend.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“FRCP”) 12(b)(6) permits a party to move to dismiss a 

complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). 

To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, the plaintiff must plead “enough facts to state a 

claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). 

A claim is plausible when the plaintiff pleads “factual content that allows the court to draw the 

reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 

556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009). When considering motions to dismiss, Courts must “accept factual 

allegations in the complaint as true and construe the pleadings in the light most favorable to the 

nonmoving party.” Manzarek v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 519 F.3d 1025, 1031 (9th Cir. 

2008). Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(e) allows a party to “move for a more definite 

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United States District Court

Northern District of California

statement of a pleading to which a responsive pleading is allowed but which is so vague or 

ambiguous that the party cannot reasonably prepare a response.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(e).

Defendants argue that Plaintiff’s TAC violates FRCP 8(a), which requires a “short and 

plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a). 

Defendants argue that Plaintiff’s TAC “is a brief, not a pleading,” and contend that they are unable 

to file an answer to the document because it “does not make factual allegations.” Dkt. No. 51 at 3. 

Having reviewed Plaintiff’s TAC, the Court agrees that it is a legal brief rather than a complaint

pleading “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. 

Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). While “mere vagueness or lack of detail is not ground for a 

motion to dismiss, [and] should [instead] be attacked by a motion for a more definite statement,” 

Harman v. Valley Nat’l Bank of Ariz., 339 F. 2d 564, 567 (9th Cir. 1964), Plaintiff’s TAC is not 

merely vague. Rather, Plaintiff has improperly used the TAC to make a legal argument that his 

government claim for false arrest in 2010 is timely. See Dkt. No. 49 at 7. While the Court 

previously granted Plaintiff leave to amend his complaint to provide additional facts in support of 

that assertion, if he can do so truthfully, Plaintiff may not submit a legal brief that advances legal 

arguments. In other words, Plaintiff’s amended complaint must allege, in a single document,

facts--not arguments--establishing the basis for the remaining claims in this action, specifically:

1. Plaintiff’s claims of false arrest and racial and national origin discrimination under 

California Civil Code § 52.1(b) relating to his 2010 arrest and 2014 prosecution; and

2. Plaintiff’s claims for racial and national origin discrimination and conspiracy under 42 

U.S.C. §§ 1981, 1983, and 1985 relating to his 2010 arrest and 2014 prosecution.

With regard to Plaintiff’s section 1981, 1983, and 1985 claims relating to his 2010 arrest 

and 2014 prosecution, Plaintiff need only re-allege the same facts that he provided in the original 

complaint in support of that claim, as the Court has already found that they were sufficient to 

plead a claim under FRCP 12(b)(6). See Dkt. No. 29 at 21. With regard to Plaintiff’s section 

52.1(b) claim, Plaintiff must re-allege the facts he pled in the original complaint and allege

additional facts establishing that he filed an application for leave to file an untimely government 

claim, or that his claim is subject to statutory or equitable tolling, if he can truthfully make such 

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allegations. 

In his amended complaint, Plaintiff must specifically identify what each named defendant 

did or did not do with regard to each remaining claim, as he did in his original complaint. Plaintiff 

is advised that the amended complaint will supersede the original complaint and all other 

pleadings. Plaintiff may not rely on the original complaint or his opposition to Defendants’ 

motion to dismiss to establish the relevant facts. They must be fully pled in the amended 

complaint, which must be complete and self-contained. Claims and defendants not included in the 

amended complaint will not be considered by the Court. See Lacey v. Maricopa County, 693 F.3d 

896 (9th Cir. 2012) (en banc). Because the FAC must comply with the requirements of the 

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the Court’s Local Rules, the Court strongly encourages 

Plaintiff to schedule an appointment with the pro se Legal Help Center, either by calling 415-782-8982 

or by signing up in the appointment book located on the table outside the door of the Legal Help 

Center at the United States Courthouse, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, 15th Floor, Room 2796, in San 

Francisco, California.

For the foregoing reasons, the Court DENIES Defendants’ motion for a more definite 

statement, GRANTS Defendants’ motion to dismiss with leave to amend, and STRIKES

Plaintiff’s TAC from the record. Plaintiff has a final opportunity to file a fourth amended 

complaint that corrects the deficiencies identified above by January 30, 2017. 

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated:

______________________________________

HAYWOOD S. GILLIAM, JR.

United States District Judge

1/9/2017

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