Travelers Property Casualty Company of American v. Centex Homes et al

Filing 75

ORDER by Judge Hamilton granting 63 Motion to Dismiss (pjhlc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 9/13/2012)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
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TRAVELERS PROPERTY CASUALTY
COMPANY OF AMERICA, et al.,
Plaintiffs,

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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v.

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ORDER GRANTING MOTION
TO DISMISS

CENTEX HOMES, et al.,

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No. C 12-0371 PJH

Defendant.
_______________________________/

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The motion of defendants Centex Homes and Newmeyer & Dillon LLP to dismiss the

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claims asserted against them in the second amended complaint came on for hearing before

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this court on September 12, 2012. Plaintiffs appeared by their counsel Raymond Brown,

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and defendants appeared by their counsel J. Kelby Van Patten. Having read the parties’

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papers and carefully considered their arguments, and good cause appearing, the court

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hereby GRANTS the motion as follows and for the reasons stated at the hearing.

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The claims asserted by plaintiff Travelers Property Casualty Company of America

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(“Travelers Property”) are dismissed with leave to amend. The third amended complaint

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shall be filed no later than October 10, 2012. The third amended complaint shall not allege

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any new claims or name any new parties unless Travelers Property first obtains the

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agreement of defendants. If such agreement is not forthcoming, any future requests for

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leave to amend must be made pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15.

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The court finds that plaintiffs Travelers Indemnity Company of Connecticut, St. Paul

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Mercury Insurance Company, The Travelers Indemnity Company of America, St. Paul Fire

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and Marine Insurance Company, Fidelity & Guaranty Insurance Company, and Fidelity &

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Guaranty Insurance Underwriters, Inc. were improperly added to the complaint and

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improperly joined, given that there is no one common transaction in which each was

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involved. Accordingly, the court hereby orders them severed from the case, for all

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purposes. See Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 15, 20, 21. The claims asserted by those

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plaintiffs are dismissed without prejudice to refiling in separate complaints, should they

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choose to do so.

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The parties shall submit a stipulation scheduling a case management conference as
soon as the pleadings are settled.

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For the Northern District of California

United States District Court

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: September 13, 2012
______________________________
PHYLLIS J. HAMILTON
United States District Judge

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