Morley et al v. Medic One LLC et al

Filing 72

ORDER granting 62 Motion for Reconsideration pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e). Air Evac is reinstated as a defendant; the Court's 6/8/2017 Order, 57 , is vacated insofar as it is inconsistent with this Order. The Medic One de fendants 58 motion for leave to file notice of non-party fault is denied without prejudice. They can proceed by cross-claim. The Morleys' 64 motion for more time to file a brief is denied as moot. Signed by Judge D. P. Marshall Jr. on 8/17/2017. (jak)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF ARKANSAS
JONESBORO DIVISION
ROY MORLEY and WENDY MORLEY

v.

PLAINTIFFS

No. 3:16-cv-110-DPM

MEDIC ONE LLC, d/b/a Medic One-Arkansas;
DANIEL RIVERA; DESIREE HAWKINS BYRD;
JOHN DOES, 1-6; JIM TOLEWITZKE;
BROOKLAND FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT;
and AMERICAN ALTERNATIVE
INSURANCE CORPORATION

DEFENDANTS

ORDER

The Morleys' motion for reconsideration, Ng 62, is granted pursuant to
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e). They are right that the Court's
extensions of time to serve process preserved the Morleys' time for relation
back under Rule 15(c)(l)(C). Lee v. Airgas-Mid South, Inc., 793 F.3d 894, 897 n.3
(8th Cir. 2015); Robinson v . Clipse, 602 F.3d 605, 608 (4th Cir. 2010). A timeline

with all the material dates and events is in Appendix A. Among the many
extensions granted, the Court extended the Morleys' deadline to serve the

original complaint to 7 April 2017. Ng 19. Air Evac knew about the lawsuit
naming it at least as early as 3 April 2017. NQ 35 at ,-r 2. So, within the time for
service under Rule 4(m), as extended by the Court, Air Evac had enough

notice of this lawsuit that it won't be prejudiced in defending on the merits.
It's also clear that, within that period, Air Evac knew the Morleys had made
a mistake in not naming Air Evac at the outset. Ibid.; Ng 21 at i-fi-112-13. Those
circumstances satisfy all of Rule 15(c)(1)(C)' s conditions.
Air Evac is reinstated as a defendant; the Court's June 8th Order, NQ 57,
is vacated insofar as it is inconsistent with this Order. The Medic One
defendants' motion for leave to file notice of non-party fault, NQ 58, is denied
without prejudice. They can proceed by cross-claim. The Morleys' motion for
more time to file a brief, NQ 64, is denied as moot.
So Ordered.

fr.

D .P. Marshall
United States District Judge

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Appendix A

•

20 April 2016

Complaint filed, naming
Medic One, individuals, and
John Does. Ng 1.

•
•

21 April 2016

Statute of limitations expired.

15 July 2016

Service deadline extended to
16 November 2016. Ng 7.

•

16 November 2016

Service deadline extended to
15 February 2017. Ng 15.

•

8 February 2017

Service deadline extended to
7 April 2017. NQ 19.

•

30 March 2017

Amended Complaint filed,
naming Air Evac for the first
time. Ng 21.

•

3 April 2017

Air Evac served with
Amended Complaint. Ng 35.

•

5 April 2017

Corrected Amended
Complaint filed. Ng 23.

•

10 April 2017

Service deadline extended to
19 April 2017. NQ 25.

•

4 May 2017

Air Evac moved to dismiss on
limitations grounds. Ng 40.

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