OS33 v. Centurylink Commc'ns, L.L.C.

350 F. Supp. 3d 807
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Missouri
DecidedNovember 20, 2018
DocketNo. 4:17-CV-2603 CAS
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 350 F. Supp. 3d 807 (OS33 v. Centurylink Commc'ns, L.L.C.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Missouri primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
OS33 v. Centurylink Commc'ns, L.L.C., 350 F. Supp. 3d 807 (E.D. Mo. 2018).

Opinion

CHARLES A. SHAW, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This removed diversity matter is before the Court on plaintiff OS33's ("plaintiff" or "OS33") Motion for Leave to File a First Amended Complaint. Remaining defendant CenturyLink Communications, L.L.C. ("CenturyLink") opposes the motion. Plaintiff did not file a reply memorandum and the motion is ready for decision. For the following reasons, the motion for leave to amend will be granted in part and denied in part, and plaintiff will be ordered to submit a revised First Amended Complaint for filing.

I. Background

By Memorandum and Order dated May 17, 2018 (the "Order"), the Court granted in part and denied in part CenturyLink's motion to dismiss OS33's Petition for failure to state a claim pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), Fed. R. Civ. P., and for failure to plead fraud with particularity pursuant to Rule 9(b). Shortly thereafter, plaintiff filed the instant motion for leave to amend, accompanied by a proposed First Amended Complaint that attempts to cure the pleading defects found by the Court.1

As detailed in the Order, OS33 and CenturyLink entered into a contract for cloud computing, hosting, and related services. OS33 asserted two claims in its state court Petition. In Count I, OS33 sought a declaratory judgment that (a) CenturyLink breached the parties' Agreement by changing the Service Term and Billing Commencement Dates for services without notice to OS33 whenever there was a change to an original Service Order; (b)

*811CenturyLink breached the parties' Agreement because it lacked cause to terminate services it provided to OS33 after OS33 withdrew its request for early termination; (c) CenturyLink's claim for Early Termination Charges is improper based upon CenturyLink's breach of the parties' Agreement by terminating the services without cause and improperly changing the Service Terms without notice; and (d) OS33 does not owe any Early Termination Charges for services CenturyLink cancelled without cause. In Count II, OS33 asserted a claim of fraud based on CenturyLink's alleged breach of the parties' agreement by changing the Service Term and Billing Commencement Dates for services without notice to OS33 whenever there was a change to an original Service Order.

CenturyLink moved to dismiss OS33's Petition. The Court granted the motion to dismiss OS33's claims in Count I that CenturyLink breached the parties' agreement by changing the Service Term and Billing Commencement Dates for services without notice to OS33 whenever there was a change to an original Service Order. The Court denied the motion as to OS33's claims in Count I that CenturyLink breached the parties' agreement when it terminated services after OS33 withdrew its request for early termination. The Court also granted the motion to dismiss OS33's fraud claim in Count II, because it was based solely on the factual allegations underlying the breach of contract claims that were dismissed for failure to state a claim. The Court did not reach CenturyLink's other arguments for dismissal of the fraud claim.

OS33 now seeks to file an amended complaint to revive the dismissed claims. OS33's motion does not cite a procedural basis for the relief it seeks or discuss the appropriate legal standard. CenturyLink argues that OS33's motion should be denied because the proposed amendment is futile and would not survive a motion to dismiss, and because OS33 does not show good cause for the amendment under Rule 16(b), Fed. R. Civ. P.

II. Legal Standard

Although leave to amend is to be freely granted under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a), the Court has discretion whether or not to grant leave to amend. Zenith Radio Corp. v. Hazeltine Research, Inc., 401 U.S. 321, 330-32, 91 S.Ct. 795, 28 L.Ed.2d 77 (1971). "[D]enial of leave to amend pleadings is appropriate only in those limited circumstances in which undue delay, bad faith on the part of the moving party, futility of the amendment, or unfair prejudice to the non-moving party can be demonstrated." Hillesheim v. Myron's Cards and Gifts, Inc., 897 F.3d 953, 955 (8th Cir. 2018) (quoted case omitted).

It is well established, however, that a "motion for leave to amend filed outside the district court's Rule 16(b) scheduling order requires a showing of good cause." Kmak v. American Century Cos., Inc., 873 F.3d 1030, 1034 (8th Cir. 2017) (quoting Williams v. TESCO Servs., Inc., 719 F.3d 968, 977 (8th Cir. 2013) ). "The primary measure of good cause is the movant's diligence." Id. (quoting Harris v. FedEx Nat'l LTL, Inc., 760 F.3d 780, 786 (8th Cir. 2014) ). Courts generally do not consider prejudice to the nonmoving party if the party seeking leave to amend has not been diligent in meeting the case management order's deadlines. Id. (quoting Hartis v. Chicago Title Ins. Co., 694 F.3d 935, 948 (8th Cir. 2012) ).

Here, the Case Management Order required that motions for leave to amend pleadings be filed by May 7, 2018. (Doc. 20.) CenturyLink's motion to dismiss was filed in December 2017, and the Court *812issued the Order dismissing most of OS33's Petition on May 17, 2018. While the motion to dismiss was pending, OS33 chose to rest on its Petition and did not attempt to address the deficiencies identified by the motion, though it could have filed an amended pleading as a matter of course under Rule 15(a)(1)(B), Fed. R. Civ. P. OS33 sought leave to amend its complaint on May 21, 2018, four days after the Court's ruling.

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Bluebook (online)
350 F. Supp. 3d 807, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/os33-v-centurylink-commcns-llc-moed-2018.