Pitcher v. Hall

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

MIDDLE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA

GENEVA PITCHER CIVIL ACTION

VERSUS NO. 20-150-BAJ-SDJ

TIMITHIA HALL, et al.

ORDER

The Court issues this Order GRANTING Defendants’ Motion to Strike (R. Doc. 16) Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint (R. Doc. 14), which will be struck from the record by the Clerk of Court, for the reasons given below. Rule 15(a)(1) allows a plaintiff to amend the complaint once, as a matter of course, “within 21 days of serving it,” or within 21 days of a responsive pleading or motion under Rule 12(b), (e) or (f). When that period has ended, a party may “amend its pleading only with the opposing party’s written consent or the court’s leave.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2). Here, the first responsive pleading was served on March 27, 2020 (R. Doc. 4), meaning Plaintiff’s ability to amend as a matter of course ended on April 17, 2020. See Bank of Am. v. TemPay LLC, 2019 WL 9359721, at *8 (W.D.N.Y. Nov. 7, 2019) (“21-day period runs from the first defense response”). After that, Plaintiff could only amend the Complaint with the opposing parties’ consent or leave of court. Despite this, Plaintiff filed an Amended Complaint (R. Doc. 14) on October 13, 2020, without leave or the consent of her opponents.1 Because Plaintiff’s Amended

1 Following Defendants’ Motion to Strike (R. Doc. 16), Plaintiff filed a Motion for Leave to Amend (R. Doc. 17), which is pending before the Court. Complaint (R. Doc. 14) was filed without complying with Rule 15(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, IT IS ORDERED that Defendants’ Motion to Strike (R. Doc. 14) is GRANTED and Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint (R. Doc. 14) will be STRUCK from the record by the Clerk of Court.

Signed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on November 10, 2020.

S

SCOTT D. JOHNSON UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE