Khan v. SAP Labs, LLC et al

Filing 117

ORDER DENYING 109 PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE THIRD AMENDED COMPLAINT; AND DENYING 113 PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR RELIEF FROM SCHEDULING ORDER. Signed by Judge Beth Labson Freeman on 4/26/2021. (blflc1S, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 4/26/2021)Any non-CM/ECF Participants have been served by First Class Mail to the addresses of record listed on the Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF)

Case 5:18-cv-07490-BLF Document 117 Filed 04/26/21 Page 1 of 5

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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SAN JOSE DIVISION

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MUHAMMAD KHAN,

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Plaintiff,

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v.

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SAP LABS, LLC,
Defendant.

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Case No. 18-cv-07490-BLF
ORDER DENYING PLAINTIFF’S
MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE
THIRD AMENDED COMPLAINT; AND
DENYING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION
FOR RELIEF FROM SCHEDULING
ORDER
[Re: ECF 109, 113]

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Before the Court are Plaintiff Muhammad Khan’s (“Khan”) motion for leave to file a third

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amended complaint (“Motion for Leave”), see ECF 109, and motion for relief from the scheduling

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order (“Motion for Relief”), see ECF 113. Defendant SAP Labs, LLC (“SAP”) opposes both

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motions, see ECF 110, 115.
Khan’s motions are DENIED for the reasons discussed below.

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I.

BACKGROUND
Khan filed this pro se employment discrimination action from prison, where he is serving a

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nine-year sentence for setting fire to the residence of his former SAP manager, Sanjay Shirole.

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Khan’s original complaint, which was filed in the Santa Clara County Superior Court on August

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21, 2018, alleged that Shirole and others harassed and discriminated against him on the basis of

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race and sexual orientation, and retaliated against him for complaining about the alleged

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harassment and discrimination. See Not. of Removal, Johnsrud Decl. Exh. 4 (Complaint), ECF 1-

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4. Defendants removed the action to federal district court in December 2018. See Notice of

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Removal, ECF 1.

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The parties filed numerous motions over the next year and a half, from January 2019
through June 2020. Defendants filed four motions during that period:

Case 5:18-cv-07490-BLF Document 117 Filed 04/26/21 Page 2 of 5

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(1)

motion to dismiss the complaint, see ECF 7;

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(2)

motion to dismiss the first amended complaint (“FAC”), see ECF 44;

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(3)

administrative motion to extend time to respond to FAC, see ECF 65; and

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(4)

motion to dismiss the second amended complaint (“SAC”), see ECF 67.

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Khan filed seventeen motions during the same period:

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(1)

motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis, see ECF 25;

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(2)

motion for extension of time to oppose the motion to dismiss the complaint, see
ECF 28;

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(3)

complaint, see ECF 30;

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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amended motion for extension of time to oppose the motion to dismiss the

(4)

motion for extension of time to oppose the motion to dismiss the complaint, see
ECF 32;

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(5)

motion to appoint counsel, see ECF 34;

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(6)

motion for leave to amend the complaint, see ECF 35;

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(7)

motion to remand, see ECF 37;

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(8)

motion to submit amended opposition to the motion to dismiss the FAC, see ECF
47;

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(9)

motion for extension of time to oppose the motion to dismiss the FAC, see ECF 49;

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(10)

motion for extension of time to oppose the motion to dismiss the FAC, see ECF 51;

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(11)

ex parte motion for extension of time to oppose the motion to dismiss the FAC, see
ECF 54;

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(12)

motion to stay proceedings, see ECF 60;

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(13)

motion for extension of time, see ECF 62;

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(14)

motion for extension of time to oppose the motion to dismiss the SAC, see ECF 68;

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(15)

second motion for extension of time to oppose the motion to dismiss the SAC, see
ECF 70;

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(16)

motion for leave to file a motion for reconsideration, see ECF 72; and

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(17)

motion for extension of time to oppose the motion to dismiss the SAC, see ECF 77.
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Case 5:18-cv-07490-BLF Document 117 Filed 04/26/21 Page 3 of 5

Following the Court’s rulings on those motions, a single claim remains in the operative

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SAC, Claim 1 for violation of California Labor Code § 1102.5, asserted against SAP. See Order

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Re Motion to Dismiss SAC, ECF 80. SAP filed an answer on August 18, 2020. See Answer, ECF

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84. The Court issued a scheduling order on September 21, 2020, setting November 20, 2020 as

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the last date for motions to amend the pleadings pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15.

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See Case Management Scheduling Order, ECF 88.
On February 2, 2021 – six months after the pleadings were finally settled and more than

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two months after the deadline to seek amendment pursuant to Rule 15 – Khan filed the present

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Motion for Leave, seeking to file a third amended complaint adding a new claim of race
discrimination under 42 U.S.C. § 1981. See Motion for Leave, ECF 109. In opposition, SAP

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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pointed out that Khan had not sought relief from the November 20, 2020 deadline for seeking

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leave to amend. See Opp. to Motion for Leave, ECF 110. Khan then filed the present Motion for

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Relief, arguing that good cause exists to grant relief from the scheduling order under Federal Rule

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of Civil Procedure 16. See Motion for Relief, ECF 113. In opposition, SAP argues that Khan has

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not shown good cause for relief from the scheduling order.

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II.

LEGAL STANDARD
“Where, as here, a party seeks leave to amend after the deadline set in the scheduling order

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has passed, the party’s request is judged under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (‘FRCP’) 16’s

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‘good cause’ standard rather than the ‘liberal amendment policy’ of FRCP 15(a).” DRK Photo v.

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McGraw-Hill Glob. Educ. Holdings, LLC, 870 F.3d 978, 989 (9th Cir. 2017) (citation omitted).

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Rule 16 provides in relevant part that “[a] schedule may be modified only for good cause and with

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the judge’s consent.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4). “The central inquiry under Fed. R. Civ. P. 16(b)(4)

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is whether the requesting party was diligent in seeking the amendment.” DRK Photo, 870 F.3d at

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989. “Although the existence or degree of prejudice to the party opposing the modification might

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supply additional reasons to deny a motion, the focus of the inquiry is upon the moving party’s

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reasons for seeking modification.” Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 609 (9th

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Cir. 1992). “If that party was not diligent, the inquiry should end.” Id.

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Case 5:18-cv-07490-BLF Document 117 Filed 04/26/21 Page 4 of 5

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III.

DISCUSSION
Khan asserted that he was subjected to discrimination and harassment on the basis of race

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in his original complaint filed in August 2018. See Not. of Removal, Johnsrud Decl. Exh. 4

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(Complaint), ECF 1-4. He asserted race discrimination claims under California’s Fair

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Employment and Housing Act, Cal. Govt. Code Ann. § 12940(h), in his complaint and FAC. See

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Not. of Removal, Johnsrud Decl. Exh. 4 (Complaint), ECF 1-4; FAC, ECF 59. Khan now seeks to

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add a new claim for race discrimination under 42 U.S.C. § 1981, stating that he “recently came

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across 42 USCS § 1981 through speaking with an employment attorney.” Motion for Leave at 2,

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ECF 109. He makes clear that the proposed § 1981 claim is a new “legal theory based on facts
already pled.” See id. at 1. Khan asserts in his Motion for Relief that he was diligent in seeking to

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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add a § 1981 claim as soon as he learned of the potential claim from the attorney. See Motion for

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Relief at 5-6, ECF 113.

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As SAP correctly argues, “[a]sserting only new legal theories does not amount to diligence

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under Rule 16.” Arellano v. T-Mobile USA, Inc., No. C 10-05663 WHA, 2012 WL 1496181, at *2

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(N.D. Cal. Apr. 27, 2012); see also Hernandez v. Banner Boswell Med. Ctr., No. CV-16-04238-

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PHX-GMS (ESW), 2019 WL 6608778, at *3 (D. Ariz. Dec. 5, 2019) (“[D]istrict court did not

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abuse its discretion by holding that plaintiff’s sole reason for delay in filing motion to amend after

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deadline set by scheduling order – that she had discovered a new legal theory through additional

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research – was insufficient to show good cause.” (quoting Stephens v. Georgia Dept. of Transp.,

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134 Fed. Appx. 320, 322 (11th Cir. 2005)). “Ignorance of the law, however, does not constitute

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good cause.” Coles v. Eagle, No. CV 09-00167 LEK-BMK, 2011 WL 13350038, at *2 (D. Haw.

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Apr. 14, 2011). Accordingly, the Court finds that Khan’s recent discovery of a potential new legal

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theory based on facts of which he has been aware during the entire litigation does not constitute

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good cause for relief from the scheduling order under Rule 16.

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Khan argues that he could not have discovered the existence of § 1981 because his access

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to the law library and to other resources has been limited. He submits a declaration describing the

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various lockdowns and other obstacles imposed by the prison in which he has been housed. That

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argument is unpersuasive. Khan was able to do sufficient research to file the complaint in this
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Case 5:18-cv-07490-BLF Document 117 Filed 04/26/21 Page 5 of 5

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action, and amend it twice, asserting claims under FEHA, other statutes, and common law. He

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likewise was able to file seventeen different motions in the year and a half it took to settle the

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pleadings following removal of the action. Accordingly, even accepting Khan’s assertions that he

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was ignorant of § 1981 until recently, and that incarceration has posed challenges to litigation of

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this suit, the Court does not find good cause to allow Khan to reopen the pleadings six months

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after SAP answered the operative SAC and months after the deadline for seeking amendment

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under Rule 15. “[I]gnorance of the law is not good cause for modification, nor does a moving

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party’s incarcerated, pro se status, constitute good cause.” Lanier v. San Joaquin Valley Offs.

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Ass’n, No. 1:14-CV-01938-EPG, 2016 WL 4764678, at *1 (E.D. Cal. Sept. 13, 2016) (quotation

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marks and citations omitted).
Khan’s motions are DENIED.

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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IV.

ORDER
Khan’s Motion for Leave (ECF 109) and Motion for Relief (ECF 113) are DENIED.

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Dated: April 26, 2021
______________________________________
BETH LABSON FREEMAN
United States District Judge

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