Frausto v. Ndoh

Opinion

EDGAR LOPEZ FRAUSTO, Case No. 19-cv-0544-BAS-LR

Petitioner, ORDER v. 1. VACATING APPLICATION TO FILE A FIRST AMENDED PETITION (ECF No. 18) Respondents. 2. LIFTING STAY (ECF No. 9), Plaintiff applies to this Court, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“Rule”) 15(c), for leave to file a First Amended Petition for write of habeas corpus by a person in state custody. (ECF No. 18.) However, under Rule 15(a), a civil litigant may “amend the party’s pleading once as a matter of course at any time before a responsive pleading is served.” Further, Rule 15 applies to habeas petitions “with the same force that it applies to all garden-variety civil cases.” Calderon v. United States Dist. Ct., 134 F.3d 981, 986 n.6 (9th Cir. 1998) abrogated on other grounds by, Rhines v. Weber, 544 U.S. 269 (2005)); see also Keating v. Hood, 191 F.3d 1053, 1067 (9th Cir. 1998) (applying Rule 15(a) to § 2254 habeas petitions). As Respondents have yet to file a responsive pleading, Petitioner may file an amended pleading as a matter of right and does not need the Court’s leave to do so. Accordingly, Petitioner’s Motion to File a First Amended Petition is VACATED as moot. (ECF No. 18.) Finally, upon learning that Petitioner has exhausted his claims in state court (ECF No. 18-1 4 10), the Court sua sponte LIFTS THE STAY of this proceeding (ECF No. 9). DATED: July 2, 2025 yatta Bahar Hon. Cynthia Bashant, Chief Judge United States District Court