California Sportfishing Protection Alliance v. River City Waste Recyclers, LLC

Filing 43

ORDER signed by District Judge Kimberly J. Mueller on 1/27/2016 ORDERING that River City SHOW CAUSE within three days of the date of this order why it should not be sanctioned in the amount of $250 for acting in bad faith. The court DENIES Rive r City's request to continue the hearing on motion for partial summary judgment, which will proceed as previously scheduled on 1/29/2016. The court DENIES the CSPA's 33 motion for leave to amend the complaint as UNNECESSARY and VACATES the 1/29/2016 hearing on the motion for leave to amend ONLY. The court DENIES River City's request to strike ECF No. 25-25 given that it has filed the correction page. (Zignago, K.)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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CALIFORNIA SPORTFISHING
PROTECTION ALLIANCE, a Non-Profit
Corporation,

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Plaintiff,

No. 2: 14-cv-01452-KJM-CKD

ORDER

v.
RIVER CITY WASTE RECYCLERS,
LLC,
Defendants.

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Plaintiff California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA) filed the complaint in

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this action on June 17, 2014, Compl., ECF No. 1, and defendant River City Waste Recyclers,

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LLC (River City) answered on August 4, 2014, ECF No. 5. CSPA moved for partial summary

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judgment on November 20, 2015, along with a request for judicial notice, ECF Nos. 19, 23. On

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December 4, 2015, River City opposed the motion, ECF No. 27; a day later River City filed a

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statement of objections to CSPA’s evidence, and a request for judicial notice that CSPA does not

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exist, ECF No. 30. The request for judicial notice supports River City’s challenge to CSPA’s

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standing, based solely on the fact that CSPA’s name as set forth in the complaint does not include

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a “The” at the beginning, to conform to what appears to be CSPA’s correct legal name. ECF No.

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30 at 1-2. River City’s objections also incorporated an improperly noticed motion to strike Bryan
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Wilson’s deposition, ECF No. 25-25, which River City argues is incorrect and incomplete

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because it omits an appended sheet of corrections.

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Because River City declined to stipulate to CSPA’s correcting its name as set forth

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in the complaint, CSPA filed a motion for leave to amend and an ex parte application to shorten

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time advancing hearing on the motion to amend to resolve a simple threshold question. ECF Nos.

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32, 33. River City opposed the motion for leave to amend, arguing prejudice and undue delay.

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ECF No. 34. River City also argues that CSPA’s misspelling of “Sportfishing” as “Sportsfishing”

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in noticing the motion for leave to amend created further confusion. ECF No. 37 at 4. River City

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further requests the court continue hearing on summary judgment for sixty (60) days so it may

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amend its answer in response to any amended complaint and conduct additional research into its

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defense. ECF No. 37 at 2-3.

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“By presenting to the court a pleading, written motion, or other paper – whether by

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signing, filing, submitting . . . it – an attorney . . . certifies that to the best of [his] knowledge,

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information, and belief,” formed after a reasonable inquiry, that “the claims are warranted by

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existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for extending, modifying, or reversing existing law.”

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Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(b). Here, the Supreme Court long ago clarified that a mistake in a corporate

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plaintiff’s name does not affect its ability to sue. See Baltimore & P.R. Co. v. Fifth Baptist

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Church of Washington, 137 U.S. 568, 572 (1891) (a “mere mistake in the name of a corporation

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plaintiff, which does not affect its capacity to sue in the right name, is pleadable in abatement

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only, and is waived by pleading to the merit.”). River City previously answered the complaint,

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and the case has proceeded to the summary judgment stage without its identifying this

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purportedly fundamental flaw. Moreover, omission of the word “The” from CSPA’s name cannot

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reasonably raise a doubt as to who is pursuing this action, given that there is no indication that

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there are two organizations, one whose name contains a “The” and one whose does not. Nor is

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this a trademark action in which such niceties might make a whit of difference. Given that fact

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discovery has long ago concluded, ECF Nos. 17, 37, it is patently unreasonable for River City and

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its counsel to say they had no idea who the plaintiff was or that they were “hindered in finding

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one or more qualified experts” because of the missing “The” in CSPA’s name. ECF No. 37 at 3.
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The court also considers but ultimately finds unpersuasive River City’s objections

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to Exhibit Y of Davis’s declaration. In the objection, River City contends that the document is

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incomplete and incorrect because it does not append the correction page Wilson had provided

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after reviewing the transcript. River City requests the court strike the exhibit. ECF No. 30 at 2;

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ECF No. 30-2 Ex. B; Davis Decl. Ex. Y.

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Rule 30(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure permits a deponent to correct

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his deposition testimony, and “if there are changes in form or substance, to sign a statement

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listing the changes and the reasons for making them.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 30(e)(1)(B). “A statement

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of reasons explaining corrections is an important component of errata submitted pursuant to

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FRCP 30(e), because the statement permits an assessment concerning whether the alterations

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have a legitimate purpose.” See Hambleton, 397 F.3d at 1224-25 (party violated Fed. R. Civ. P.

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30(e) by not providing the reasons for the corrections and by not requesting a review of

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deposition in order to make corrections).

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While no correction page was attached to CSPA’s exhibit, this omission could

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have been cured easily by River City’s submission of the corrections page and any statements

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explaining the corrections.

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The trivial disputes raised by River City’s motions could have and should have

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been resolved through a meet-and-confer to the extent they needed to be resolved at all at this

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stage of the litigation. River City and its counsel have made mountains out of mole hills by

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insisting that the court expend resources to resolve unimportant or minor matters. The court

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reminds River City and its counsel that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11(b)(1) prohibits an

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attorney from presenting a filing for “any improper purpose, such as to harass, cause unnecessary

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delay, or needlessly increase the cost of litigation.”

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IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that River City show cause within three days of

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the date of this order why it should not be sanctioned in the amount of $250 for acting in bad

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faith. Fed. R. Civ. P. 11(b).

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The court DENIES River City’s request to continue the hearing on motion for
partial summary judgment, which will proceed as previously scheduled on January 29, 2016. The
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court DENIES the CSPA’s motion for leave to amend the complaint as UNNECESSARY and

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VACATES the January 29, 2016 hearing on the motion for leave to amend ONLY. The court

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DENIES River City’s request to strike ECF No. 25-25 given that it has filed the correction page.

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SO ORDERED.
DATED: January 27, 2016.

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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