Opinion ID: 2777843
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Mathis’s Pro Se Motion to Amend the Complaint

Text: 5 Case: 14-12038 Date Filed: 02/09/2015 Page: 6 of 20 On June 19, 2013, Plaintiff Mathis filed a “Motion for Substitution of Counsel.” Mathis notified the district court that he had terminated Kenner as his counsel, that he was a practicing attorney, and that he wished to proceed pro se. In a response, counsel Kenner indicated without elaboration that the attorney-client relationship had deteriorated, and he did not object to Mathis’s motion. Counsel Kenner advised, however, that he continued to represent Plaintiff Donley. On July 9, 2013, the district court granted Plaintiff Mathis’s motion to terminate Kenner as Mathis’s counsel. On October 2, 2013, Plaintiff Mathis filed a pro se motion for leave to file an amended complaint (“October motion”), pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)(2). Mathis attached his proposed Fourth Amended Complaint, which alleged malicious prosecution claims under § 1983 and state law, and a § 1988 claim for attorney’s fees. The proposed Fourth Amended Complaint included both Mathis and Donley as named plaintiffs and repeatedly referred to Donley and Mathis together as “the Plaintiffs,” but was signed only by Mathis. Mathis’s motion noted that the Defendants did not consent to his proposed amendment.