Wai Construction Group LLC v. Wave Quantum Inc

Opinion

FILED IN THE U.S. DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON Jul 16, 2024 SEAN F. MCAVOY, CLERK WAI CONSTRUCTION GROUP, LLC., No. 4:23-CV-05091-MKD Plaintiff, ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR DEFAULT v. JUDGMENT

WAVE QUANTUM, INC., HARVEY ECF No. 14 PRICKETT, Defendants. Before the Court is Plaintiff’s Motion for Default Judgment. ECF No. 14. The Court has identified a procedural deficiency in Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint that precludes granting Plaintiff’s motion. Plaintiff attached the contract and invoices at issue as exhibits to its initial complaint. See ECF No. 1 at 10-25. The First Amended Complaint purports to refer to “attached” exhibits. See, e.g., ECF No. 6 at 4 ¶ 13 (“A true and accurate copy of the MSA is attached hereto as Exhibit A.”); id. at ¶ 14 (“A true and accurate copy of the Statement of Work … is attached hereto as Exhibit B.”); id. at 5 ¶ 20 (“A true and accurate copy of the [invoice] is attached hereto as Exhibit C.”). However, there are no attached exhibits. While Local Civil Rule 10(c) provides that “[p]reviously filed pleadings, exhibits, or documents shall not be unnecessarily refiled but rather shall be

incorporated by reference,” LCivR 10(c), Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint did not seek to “incorporate[] by reference” the initial complaint’s exhibits. The Court is thus unable to consider the contract and invoices at issue. Cf. Ramirez v. Cnty. of

San Bernardino, 806 F.3d 1002, 1008 (9th Cir. 2015) (noting “[i]t is well- established” in the Ninth Circuit that an “amended complaint supersedes the original, the latter being treated thereafter as non-existent.”) (quotations and citations omitted). Plaintiff’s Motion for Default Judgment is therefore denied. Plaintiff may

cure this deficiency by filing a Second Amended Complaint, together with exhibits or unambiguous incorporations by reference to the initial complaint’s exhibits. Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED:

1. Plaintiff’s Motion for Default Judgment, ECF No. 14, is DENIED. IT IS SO ORDERED. The District Court Executive is directed to file this order and provide copies to counsel. DATED July 16, 2024.

s/Mary K. Dimke MARY K. DIMKE