Julie Hindley v. Department of Health and Human Services

Filing 50

ORDER by Judge Maria-Elena James granting 46 Motion to Amend/Correct ; Plaintiff is required to E-FILE the Fifth Amended Complaint by April 15, 2016. The Court shall conduct a Case Management Conference on May 5, 2016 (cdnS, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 4/14/2016)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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JULIE HINDLEY,

Case No. 15-cv-01973-MEJ

Plaintiff,
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v.
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND
HUMAN SERVICES, et al.,
Defendants.

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR
LEAVE TO AMEND AND
SCHEDULING CASE MANAGEMENT
CONFERENCE

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Pending before the Court is Plaintiff Julie Hindley’s (“Plaintiff”) Motion for Leave to File

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Fifth Amended Complaint. Dkt. No. 46. Defendants have filed a “Statement of No Position.”

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Dkt. No. 49.

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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15 provides that a party may amend its pleading once as a

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matter of course within (1) 21 days after serving the pleading or (2) 21 days after the earlier of

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service of a responsive pleading or service of a Rule 12(b) motion. Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(1).

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Outside of this timeframe, “a party may amend its pleading only with the opposing party’s written

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consent or the court’s leave,” though the court “should freely give leave when justice so requires.”

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Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2). A court considers five factors in determining whether to grant leave to

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amend: “(1) bad faith, (2) undue delay, (3) prejudice to the opposing party, (4) futility of

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amendment; and (5) whether plaintiff has previously amended his complaint.” In re W. States

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Wholesale Nat. Gas Antitrust Litig., 715 F.3d 716, 738 (9th Cir. 2013) (quotation omitted). “Not

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all of the factors merit equal weight. As this circuit and others have held, it is the consideration of

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prejudice to the opposing party that carries the greatest weight. Prejudice is the touchstone of the

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inquiry under Rule 15(a).” Eminence Capital, LLC v. Aspeon, Inc., 316 F.3d 1048, 1052 (9th Cir.

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2003) (citation omitted). “Absent prejudice, or a strong showing of any of the remaining []

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factors, there exists a presumption under Rule 15(a) in favor of granting leave to amend.” Id. at

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1052 (emphasis in original).

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As Defendants have taken no position on Plaintiff’s Motion, they have not established any

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prejudice. Further, Plaintiff’s Motion does not appear to have been brought in bad faith and is not

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futile as the amendment does not add new causes of action. Finally, although Plaintiff has

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previously amended her complaint, this amendment will cause no delay as there are no pending

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deadlines. Accordingly, the Court GRANTS Plaintiff’s Motion. Plaintiff shall e-file the Fifth

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Amended Complaint by April 15, 2016.

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Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b) and Civil Local Rule 16-10, the Court
shall conduct a Case Management Conference on May 5, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. in Courtroom B, 15th

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Floor, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102. This conference shall be attended by

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lead trial counsel for parties who are represented. Parties who are proceeding without counsel

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must appear personally. By April 28, 2016, the parties shall file a Joint Case Management

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Statement containing the information in the Standing Order for All Judges in the Northern District
of California, available at: http://cand.uscourts.gov/mejorders. The Joint Case Management
Statement form may be obtained at: http://cand.uscourts.gov/civilforms.
No chambers copy is required for either document.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: April 14, 2016
______________________________________
MARIA-ELENA JAMES
United States Magistrate Judge

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