Raker v. United States Department of Health and Human Services et al

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WO
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA
Edward Raker,
Plaintiff,
v.
United States Department of Health and
Human Services and Robert Kennedy, Jr.,
Defendants.
No. CV-26-02938-PHX-JAT
ORDER
Plaintiff has moved to amend the complaint. (Doc. 11). The entirety of Plaintiff’s
motion is “I accidentally named a second Defendant on initial filing.” (Id.).
Plaintiff lodged a proposed amended complaint. (Doc. 12). The proposed amended
complaint is completely blank except for the caption, which names only the United States
Department of Health and Human Services.
An amended complaint completely supersedes the original complaint; the latter
being treated thereafter as non-existent. Valadez–Lopez v. Chertoff, 656 F.3d 851, 857 (9th
Cir. 2011). In other words, “the original pleading no longer performs any
function....” Ferdik v. Bonzelet, 963 F.2d 1258, 1262 (9th Cir. 1992).
Here, the proposed amended complaint, which is blank, could not survive screening.
Further, the Court does not believe deleting all prior allegations was Plaintiff’s intent.
Instead, the Court construes the motion to amend to, in reality, be a motion to dismiss
Defendant Kennedy, only. So construed,
IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff’s motion to amend the complaint (Doc. 11) is
Case 2:26-cv-02938-JAT Document 13 Filed 05/19/26 Page 1 of 2

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denied. The proposed amended complaint lodged at Doc. 12 shall not be filed.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant Robert Kennedy, Jr. (only) is
dismissed, without prejudice.
Dated this 19th day of May, 2026.
Case 2:26-cv-02938-JAT Document 13 Filed 05/19/26 Page 2 of 2