Copenhaver v. Cavagna North America, Inc.

District Court, D. Montana·Decided July 27, 2021·No. 1:19-cv-00071·Unknown

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MONTANA BILLINGS DIVISION

TODD COPENHAVER and AMBER CV 19-71-BLG-SPW-TJC COPENHAVER,

Plaintiffs, ORDER

vs.

CAVAGNA GROUP S.p.A OMECA DIVISION, AMERIGAS PROPANE, L.P., ALBERTSONS, LLC., and DOES 1-10,

Defendants.

Before the Court are multiple motions. In addition to the parties’ motions for summary judgment, which will be addressed by separate findings and recommendations, currently pending are Plaintiffs Todd and Amber Copenhaver’s motions for Rule 37 Sanctions against Defendants (Docs. 105, 110), for Leave to File Fourth Amended Complaint (Doc. 115), and to Seal (Doc. 209); Defendants AmeriGas Propane L.P. and Albertsons Companies Motion for Leave to File a Sur- Reply in Opposition to the Motion to Amend (Doc. 153); Defendant Cavagna Group S.p.A. Omeca Division’s Motion to Compel Rule 35 Examinations (Doc. 132), and to Seal (Doc. 212). Several of the motions were argued during a motions hearing on July 13, 2021. (See Doc. 227.) All matters are fully briefed and ripe for review. Having considered the parties’ submissions and oral arguments, Copenhavers’ motions for sanctions are DENIED and motion to amend is

GRANTED; AmeriGas and Albertsons’ motion to file sur-reply is GRANTED; Cavagna’s motion to compel is GRANTED, and Plaintiffs and Cavagna’s motions to seal are GRANTED.

I. Procedural Background Copenhavers filed this suit on June 25, 2019 against Defendants Cavagna North America Inc., AmeriGas Propane, L.P., Albertsons LLC, and Blue Rhino Corporation, alleging various claims related to the purchase and use of an

exchangeable propane cylinder tank that ultimately caught fire and injured the Copenhavers. (Doc. 1.) A preliminary pretrial conference was held on November 5, 2019; the subsequently issued Scheduling Order set the deadline for amended

pleadings and joinder of parties for February 5, 2020. (Docs. 11, 17.) After conferring, the parties agreed to dismiss the Complaint without prejudice to correctly name the corporate defendants. (Doc. 18.) Plaintiffs filed an Amended Complaint on November 14, 2019, naming Cavagna Group S.p.A

Omeca Division (“Cavagna”), AmeriGas Propane, L.P. (“AmeriGas”), and Albertsons Companies, Inc. (“Albertsons”) as defendants, and dropping Blue Rhino Corporation from the suit. (Doc. 19.) Plaintiffs subsequently filed an

unopposed motion to file the Second Amended Complaint on February 4, 2020, seeking leave to add Ningbo Wanan Co., Ltd as a defendant. (Doc. 40.) The motion was granted; Plaintiffs filed the Second Amended Complaint on February

5, the deadline for amended pleadings. (Docs. 41, 42.) The same day, Plaintiffs filed a motion to file the Third Amended Complaint, seeking leave to add Running Supply, Inc. as a defendant. (Docs. 44-46.) The Court granted the motion;

Plaintiffs filed the Third Amended Complaint on February 12, 2020. (Docs. 47, 48.) Plaintiffs subsequently dismissed their claims against Ningbo Wanan and Runnings Supply Inc. on April 29, 2020. (Docs. 73, 74.) Thus, the remaining defendants are Cavagna, AmeriGas, and Albertsons (collectively, “Defendants”).

A status conference was held on May 4, 2020 regarding multiple motions and issues related to discovery, sanctions, and vacating/amending the Scheduling Order. (Docs. 81, 83.) Insofar as amending the Scheduling Order, all amended

dates related to discovery, settlement, and motions deadlines; the deadline for amendments to pleadings remained the same. (Doc. 84.) The new discovery deadline was set at November 6, 2020. (Id. at 3.) Plaintiffs filed the instant motion seeking leave to file the Fourth Amended

Complaint on December 2, 2020. (Doc. 115.) II. Plaintiffs’ Motion to Amend Copenhaver’s Third Amended Complaint sets forth a claim for strict

products liability and punitive damages, and states that “Defendants and each of them were at all material times in the business of selling the Product or regulator and sold the Product or regulator in a defective condition unreasonably dangerous

to the consumers and users.” (Doc. 48 at ¶ 31.) As to the specific defect, Copenhavers alleged that fire on the propane tank was caused by a leak in the rubber sealing gasket inside the valve on the tank. (Id. at ¶ 20.) Copenhavers

further alleged that the leak was caused by the defective design of the valve and defective material used in the sealing gasket. (Id.) On August 3, 2020, Cavagna disclosed its liability experts, who asserted that the propane leak did not come from the valve itself, but from the base or “spud” of

the valve where it connects to the cylinder. Albertsons and AmeriGas joined in the disclosure and adopted the conclusions of Cavagna’s experts. Copenhavers assert they were unaware that Defendants intended to rely on the “spud theory” to defend

the claim until the experts were disclosed. Copenhavers responded by submitting a rebuttal expert report on September 4, 2020, asserting that the evidence was inconsistent with the spud theory. But the report further stated that even if the leak originated at the spud, it was nevertheless

still due to a defective and unreasonably dangerous condition, which would have existed at the time the tank was sold to Copenhavers. In other words, Copenhavers asserted that regardless of whether the leak originated from the valve or from the spud, it was a defective, unreasonably dangerous product for which the Defendants were strictly liable.

Thereafter, a disagreement apparently developed between Copenhavers and AmeriGas and Albertsons over whether the alternative spud theory was encompassed within the allegations of the Third Amended Complaint.

Copenhavers thus specifically included the theory in their proposed Fourth Amended Complaint, submitted with their motion for leave to amend on December 2, 2020. (Doc. 117-1.) AmeriGas and Albertsons object to the amended pleading and assert they will be prejudiced if Copenhavers are permitted to recover on this

alternative theory at trial. Copenhavers counter that the amendment merely reflects the rebuttal expert report timely provided to Defendants in September 2020, following Defendants own disclosure of the theory in August 2020.

A. Legal Standard Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2) governs the amendment of pleadings before trial and provides, in pertinent part, that “a party may amend its pleading only with the opposing party’s written consent or the court’s leave.” Where the motion to amend

comes after a scheduling order has been imposed, however, Rule 16(b) must also be considered. Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 608 (9th Cir. 1992); Coleman v. Quaker Oats Co., 232 F.3d 1271, 1294 (9th Cir. 2000). Rule 16(b)(4) requires “good cause” to modify a scheduling order. “Unlike Rule 15(a)’s liberal amendment policy, which focuses on the bad faith of the party

seeking to interpose an amendment and the prejudice to the opposing party, Rule 16(b)’s ‘good cause’ standard primarily considers the diligence of the party seeking the amendment.” Johnson, 975 F.2d at 609; Coleman, 232 F.3d at 1294.

Prejudice to the opposing party may provide an additional reason to deny a motion to amend, but “the focus of the inquiry is upon the moving party’s reasons for seeking modification.” Id. “If that party was not diligent, the inquiry should end.” Id.; see also, In re Western States Wholesale Natural Gas Antitrust Litigation, 715

F.3d 716, 737 (9th Cir.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Copenhaver v. Cavagna North America, Inc., (D. Mont. 2021).

Copenhaver v. Cavagna North America, Inc. (Copenhaver v. Cavagna North America, Inc.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Schlagenhauf v. Holder
379 U.S. 104 (Supreme Court, 1965)
Alioto v. Town of Lisbon
651 F.3d 715 (Seventh Circuit, 2011)
United States v. Hiram Webb
655 F.2d 977 (Ninth Circuit, 1981)
Edward G. Eldridge v. Sherman Block
832 F.2d 1132 (Ninth Circuit, 1987)
Learjet, Inc. v. Oneok, Inc.
715 F.3d 716 (Ninth Circuit, 2013)
Wood v. Old Trapper Taxi
952 P.2d 1375 (Montana Supreme Court, 1997)
Saes Getters S.P.A. v. Aeronex, Inc.
219 F. Supp. 2d 1081 (S.D. California, 2002)
Coleman v. Quaker Oats Co.
232 F.3d 1271 (Ninth Circuit, 2000)
Adam v. Hawaii
235 F.3d 1160 (Ninth Circuit, 2000)
Tarte v. United States
249 F.R.D. 856 (S.D. Florida, 2008)
Dziwanoski v. Ocean Carriers Corp.
26 F.R.D. 595 (D. Maryland, 1960)
Warrick v. Brode
46 F.R.D. 427 (D. Delaware, 1969)
McDaniel v. Toledo, Peoria & Western Railroad
97 F.R.D. 525 (C.D. Illinois, 1983)
Wheat v. Biesecker
125 F.R.D. 479 (N.D. Indiana, 1989)