1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 MELLISA VAZQUEZ, individually and as Case No. 1:25-cv-00089-KES-CDB successor in interest to Jacob Johnston, 12 ORDER ON STIPULATION TO DISMISS Plaintiff, PLAINTIFF’S INDIVIDUAL CLAIMS AND 13 STRIKE CERTAIN REQUESTED RELIEF v. 14 (Doc. 7) BAKERSFIELD POLICE DEPARTMENT, 15 et al., SEVEN-DAY AND TEN-DAY DEADLINES 16 Defendants. 17 18 On January 21, 2025, Plaintiff Mellisa Vazquez, individually and as successor in interest 19 to decedent Jacob Johnston, initiated this action with the filing of a complaint against Defendants 20 Bakersfield Police Department, City of Bakersfield, and Officer Jay Moore. (Doc. 1). Pending 21 before the Court is the parties’ stipulated request to dismiss Plaintiff Vazquez’s individual claims 22 and strike certain categories of requested relief. (Doc. 7). 23 The parties stipulate that Plaintiff Vazquez has no standing to bring claims in her 24 individual capacity and those claims should, thus, be dismissed. The parties further stipulate 25 that Plaintiff’s prayer for damages for “present and future medical expenses” and “present[] and 26 future loss of income and/or earning capacity” (Doc. 1 at 18) are not recoverable and should be 27 stricken from the complaint. The parties agree that Plaintiff will file an affidavit, pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure § 377.32, within five days of issuance of this order, and 1 Defendants shall have 14 days from issuance of this order to file their answer to Plaintiff’s 2 complaint. (See Doc. 7). 3 Withdrawals of individual claims against a given defendant are governed by Federal Rule 4 of Civil Procedure 15, which addresses amendment of pleadings. See Hells Canyon Pres. 5 Council v. U.S. Forest Serv.,

(9th Cir. 2005). Consistent with this principle, 6 the Court construes the parties’ stipulation to dismiss Plaintiff’s individual capacity claims as an 7 unopposed request for leave to amend the complaint under Rule 15. See

. Therefore, 8 the Court will direct Plaintiff to file an amended complaint. Any such amended complaint shall 9 amend the claims and requested damages only to the extent agreed to by the parties’ in their 10 stipulation. 11 Based on the parties’ stipulated representations, the Court also will direct Plaintiff to file 12 an affidavit pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure § 377.32. See Anderson v. Hickman, 13 No. CIV. S-07-1466 LKK DAD,

, at *1 (E.D. Cal. June 11, 2008) (finding 14 that, even if submission of such an affidavit may be a state law procedure, its content is 15 substantive and the state’s requirement for such suggests existence of substantive state law rule, 16 thus “most federal courts to have confronted the issue have found that plaintiffs must satisfy the 17 procedural requirements of section 377.32”). 18 Conclusion and Order 19 Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that: 20 1. Plaintiff shall file any first amended complaint within seven (7) days of issuance of 21 this order, amending the claims and requested damages only to the extent agreed to 22 by the parties’ in their stipulation (Doc. 7); 23 2. Plaintiff shall file an affidavit, pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure § 24 377.32, within ten (10) days of issuance of this order; and 25 /// 26 /// 27 /// 1 3. Defendants shall have 14 days from filing of Plaintiff's first amended complaint to 2 file their responsive pleading. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(3). 3 | IT IS SO ORDERED. “| Dated: _ April 18, 2025 | Word bo 5 UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28