Ford v. City of Goodwater, Alabama et al

Filing 38

OPINION AND ORDER directing that defendant Jonathan Pitts's motion to strike (Doc. No. 29 ) is denied.. Signed by Honorable Judge Myron H. Thompson on 11/21/13. (scn, )

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF ALABAMA, NORTHERN DIVISION

BRIAN KEITH FORD,

)
)
Plaintiff,
)
)
v.
)
)
CITY OF GOODWATER, JONATHAN )
PITTS, and GERALD WHETSTONE,)
)
Defendants.
)

CIVIL ACTION NO.
2:12cv1094-MHT
(WO)

OPINION AND ORDER
Defendant Jonathan Pitts has filed a motion to strike
several

affidavits

offered

in

which

response

to

plaintiff
Pitts’s

Brian

motion

Keith
for

Ford

summary

judgment.
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(f) applies only to
pleadings:

“The

insufficient

court

defense

may
or

strike
any

from

a

redundant,

pleading

an

immaterial,

impertinent, or scandalous matter.” Defendant’s motion to
“strike” evidence in a response to a motion for summary
judgement is not a request to strike material from a

pleading.
2d

Norman v. Southern Guar. Ins. Co., 191 F. Supp.

1321,

1327-28

Nevertheless,

in

(M.D.

Ala.

resolving

2002)

Pitts’s

(Thompson,

J).

summary-judgment

motion, the court will implicitly consider the motion to
strike as, instead, an objection to the evidence offered
See Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c)(2) (“A party may

by Ford.

object that the material cited to support or dispute a
fact

cannot

admissible

in

be

presented

in

evidence.”).

a

The

form

that

court

is

would

be

capable

of

sifting through the evidence, as required by the summaryjudgment

process,

without

resort

to

an

exclusionary

process.
***
Accordingly, it is ORDERED that defendant Jonathan
Pitts’s motion to strike (Doc. No. 29) is denied.
DONE, this the 21st day of November.
/s/ Myron H. Thompson
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE