Cole v. Sierra Pacific Mortgage Company, Inc.
Filing
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Order by Chief Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero denying without prejudice 26 Motion to Strike Affirmative Defenses. (jcslc2S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 11/1/2018)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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DEVIN COLE,
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Case No. 18-cv-01692-JCS
Plaintiff,
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v.
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SIERRA PACIFIC MORTGAGE
COMPANY, INC.,
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Re: Dkt. No. 26
Defendant.
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
ORDER DENYING WITHOUT
PREJUDICE MOTION TO STRIKE
AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES
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Plaintiff Devin Cole moves to strike several affirmative defenses from the answer filed by
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Defendant Sierra Pacific Mortgage Company (“Sierra Pacific”). At least some of the affirmative
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defenses at issue appear to relate to issues that will likely be litigated either for class certification
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or for the merits of Cole’s TCPA claim, while others appears unlikely to have any effect on the
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case. “‘The function of a 12(f) motion to strike is to avoid the expenditure of time and money that
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must arise from litigating spurious issues by dispensing with those issues prior to trial . . . .’”
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Whittlestone, Inc. v. Handi-Craft Co., 618 F.3d 970, 973 (9th Cir. 2010) (ellipsis in original;
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citation omitted). Based on the present record, Cole’s motion is more likely to cause than avoid
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unnecessary litigation and expense.
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In the interest of efficiency, Sierra Pacific need not file a response, the hearing set for
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December 7, 2018 is VACATED, and the motion is DENIED without prejudice.1 See Hernandez
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v. Balakian, No. CV-F-06-1383 OWW/DLB, 2007 WL 1649911, at *3 (E.D. Cal. June 1, 2007)
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(denying a motion to strike affirmative defenses that appeared to be “an ‘unnecessary formalism’
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wasting the time and resources of the parties and the Court”).
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If Cole remains concerned that Sierra Pacific has asserted improper defenses, the parties
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The parties have consented to the jurisdiction of the undersigned magistrate judge for all
purposes pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c).
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shall meet and confer regarding whether an agreement can be reached for Sierra Pacific to amend
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its answer. If the parties cannot resolve the issue, Cole may file a renewed, narrowly tailored
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motion articulating the prejudice that he faces from any improper defense he seeks to strike.
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IT IS SO ORDERED.
Dated: November 1, 2018
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JOSEPH C. SPERO
Chief Magistrate Judge
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United States District Court
Northern District of California
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