Aguilar v. City Of Concord et al
Filing
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ORDER by Judge Laurel Beeler granting 49 Motion to Amend/Correct. Plaintiff Ignacio Aguilar is required to E-FILE the amended document. (lblc3S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 6/1/2017)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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San Francisco Division
United States District Court
Northern District of California
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IGNACIO AGUILAR,
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Plaintiff,
ORDER GRANTING LEAVE TO FILE
AMENDED COMPLAINT
v.
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Case No. 16-cv-01670-LB
CITY OF CONCORD,
Re: ECF No. 49
Defendant.
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The plaintiff moved to amend his complaint to name the Doe defendants and to include
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theories of their liability. (Motion – ECF No. 49.1) The defendant opposes the motion and
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observes that the deadline for amending pleadings has passed. (Opposition – ECF No. 51.) The
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court finds that it can decide the motion without oral argument. See Civ. L. R. 7-1(b).
Under Rule 15, after a responsive pleading is filed, ―a party may amend its pleading only with
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the opposing party‘s consent or the court‘s leave.‖ Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2). ―The court should
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freely give leave when justice so requires.‖ Id. This leave policy is applied with ―extreme
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liberality.‖ See Eminence Capital, LLC v. Aspeon, Inc., 316 F.3d 1048, 1051 (9th Cir. 2003). A
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Record citations refer to the Electronic Case File (―ECF‖); pinpoint citations are to the ECFgenerated page numbers at the top of documents.
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ORDER — No. 16-cv-01670-LB
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court considers five factors to determine whether to grant leave to amend: (1) bad faith; (2) undue
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delay; (3) prejudice to the opposing party; (4) futility of amendment; and (5) whether the plaintiff
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previously amended his complaint. See Nunes v. Ashcroft, 375 F.3d 805, 808 (9th Cir. 2004).
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Delay alone is insufficient to justify denial of leave to amend. Jones v. Bates, 127 F.3d 839, 847
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n.8 (9th Cir. 1997). Of the factors, prejudice to the opposing party is the ―touchstone of the inquiry
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under rule 15(a)‖ and ―carries the greatest weight.‖ See Eminence Capital, 316 F.3d at 1052.
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Absent prejudice or a strong showing on other factors, a presumption exists under Rule 15(a)
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favoring granting leave to amend. See id. The party opposing a motion to amend bears the burden
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of showing prejudice. DCD Programs, Ltd. v. Leighton, 833 F.2d 183, 187 (9th Cir. 1987).
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Motions to amend the pleadings filed after the date set in the court‘s scheduling order must
United States District Court
Northern District of California
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satisfy the more stringent ―good cause‖ showing required under Rule 16. See Johnson v.
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Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 607-08 (9th Cir.1992). ―Unlike Rule 15(a)‘s liberal
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amendment policy which focuses on the bad faith of the party seeking to interpose an amendment
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and the prejudice to the opposing party, Rule 16(b)‘ s ‗good cause‘ standard primarily considers
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the diligence of the party seeking the amendment.‖ Id. at 609.
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Under the circumstances, the court grants leave. The court appreciates the defendant‘s
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argument but finds that naming the Doe defendants does not meaningfully alter the litigation
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landscape. The court does not find bad faith and — while the timing is not ideal — does not find
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sufficient lack of diligence to deny amendment. The parties have a case-management conference
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set for June 22, 2017. They must address the effect of this order on the discovery issues that the
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defendant identifies and develop a plan that meets the defendant‘s discovery needs.
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This disposes of ECF No. 49.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
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Dated: June 1, 2017
______________________________________
LAUREL BEELER
United States Magistrate Judge
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ORDER — No. 16-cv-01670-LB
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