House et al v. Conseco Life Insurance Company

Filing 12

ORDER, pursuant to 11 Text Entry Order, Plaintiffs are hereby directed to file the amended pleading within 5 days from the entry of this Order. Signed by Judge Susan Webber Wright on 7/27/09. (jct)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS JONESBORO DIVISION J.O. HOUSE, ET AL. Plaintiffs VS. CONSECO LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY Defendant ORDE R By text entry order entered July 24, 2009, the Court granted Plaintiffs' motion to file an amended complaint pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a).1 Plaintiffs are hereby directed to file the amended pleading within five days from the entry of this order. IT IS SO ORDERED THIS 27TH DAY OF JULY, 2009 /s/Susan Webber Wright UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE * * * * * * * * *

NO: 3:09CV00095 SWW

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a) provides that a party may amend a pleading "once as a matter of course before a responsive pleading is served . . . . " The term "pleading" must be read in connection with Rule 7(a), which enumerates the pleadings permitted under the federal rules as follows: a complaint, an answer, a reply to a counterclaim, an answer to a cross-claim, a third-party complaint, a third-party answer, and pursuant to a court order, a reply to an answer or a third party answer. Accordingly, a motion, including a motion to dismiss, does not qualify as a "pleading" that terminates a party's right to amend a pleading as a matter of course, without leave of court, under Rule 15(a).

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