Snapkeys, LTD v. Google LLC

Filing 116

Order by Judge Lucy H. Koh denying 80 Motion for Leave to File Fourth Amended Complaint. (lhklc2, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 5/8/2021)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

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NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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SAN JOSE DIVISION
SNAPKEYS, LTD,

Case No. 19-CV-02658-LHK

Plaintiff,

ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR
LEAVE TO FILE FOURTH AMENDED
COMPLAINT

v.
GOOGLE LLC,

Re: Dkt. No. 80

Defendant.

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On May 16, 2019, Plaintiff Snapkeys, Ltd. (“Snapkeys”) filed the instant case against

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Defendant Google LLC (“Google”). Before the Court is Snapkeys’ motion for leave to file a

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Fourth Amended Complaint, ECF No. 80 (“Mot.”). Having considered the submissions of the

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parties, the relevant law, and the record in this case, the Court DENIES Snapkeys’ motion for

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leave to file a Fourth Amended Complaint.

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Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a) provides that leave to amend shall be freely given

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“when justice so requires.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a). The Court considers five factors in assessing a

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motion for leave to amend: “bad faith, undue delay, prejudice to the opposing party, futility of

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amendment, and whether the plaintiff has previously amended the complaint.” Johnson v. Buckley,

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356 F.3d 1067, 1077 (9th Cir. 2004). Undue delay, undue prejudice, and previous amendments

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may justify denial of leave to amend. See, e.g., Dupree v. Apple, Inc., 2017 WL 201705, at *4 –*6

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Case No. 19-CV-02658-LHK
ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE FOURTH AMENDED COMPLAINT

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(N.D. Cal. Jan. 18, 2017) (concluding that undue delay, undue prejudice, and previous

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amendments justified denial of leave to amend); Campbell v. Feld Entertainment, Inc., 2014 WL

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12701123, at *3 –*6 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 14, 2014) (denying leave to amend where amendment would

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have unduly delayed the case and unduly prejudiced the defendant).
Where a party moves to amend after the Court's deadline for filing motions or amending

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the pleadings, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16 governs, and the party must show good cause

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and obtain the judge's consent to modify the deadlines set by the Court. See Fed. R. Civ. P.

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16(b)(4). “The ‘good cause’ standard primarily considers the diligence of the party seeking the

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amendment. Carelessness is not compatible with a finding of diligence and offers no reason to

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grant relief.” Hannon v. Chater, 887 F. Supp. 1303, 1319 (N.D. Cal. 1995) (internal alterations

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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and quotations omitted) (quoting Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 607–08

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(9th Cir. 1992)).1

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In the instant motion, Snapkeys moves for leave to file a Fourth Amended Complaint,

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which would be Snapkeys’ fifth complaint in this case. Mot. For the reasons stated below, the

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Court finds undue delay, undue prejudice to Google, and three previous amendments by Snapkeys,

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so the Court need not address the other leave to amend factors. Furthermore, the Court concludes

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that Snapkeys has not shown good cause to modify the case schedule.
Since the instant case was filed on May 16, 2019, Snapkeys has filed four complaints and

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Google has filed three motions to dismiss. ECF No. 1. Specifically, on May 16, 2019, Snapkeys

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filed its Complaint. ECF No. 1.
On July 9, 2019, following a letter from Google, Snapkeys filed a First Amended

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Complaint. See ECF No. 13; ECF No. 59 at 3. On July 23, 2019, Google moved to dismiss the

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First Amended Complaint. ECF No. 14.
In lieu of opposing the motion to dismiss, Snapkeys filed a Second Amended Complaint on

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Snapkeys asserts that Rule 16 does not apply to the instant case because the Court did not set a
deadline for amending the pleadings. Reply at 2. However, the Court set a deadline of December
6, 2019 for amending the pleadings. See ECF No. 27. Snapkeys filed the instant motion more than
a year after that deadline.
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Case No. 19-CV-02658-LHK
ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE FOURTH AMENDED COMPLAINT

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September 16, 2019. ECF No. 34. On September 25, 2019, Google moved to dismiss the Second

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Amended Complaint. ECF No. 35. On March 4, 2020, the Court granted in part and denied in part

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Google’s motion to dismiss with leave to amend. ECF No. 54.

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On April 3, 2020, Snapkeys filed its Third Amended Complaint, which included an

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amended claim under California’s Unfair Competition Law (“UCL”). See TAC ¶¶ 36–64. On May

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8, 2020, Google moved to dismiss the amended UCL claim. ECF No. 59. On October 30, 2020,

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this Court granted Google’s motion to dismiss Snapkeys’ UCL claim with prejudice and

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concluded that amendment would be futile, would unfairly prejudice Google, and would cause

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undue delay. ECF No. 74.

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In sum, Snapkeys has previously amended its complaint three times, and thus has already

United States District Court
Northern District of California

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filed a total of four complaints in this case, which weighs against granting leave to amend. See

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Johnson, 356 F.3d at 1077 (holding that, in considering whether to grant leave to amend, courts

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should consider whether the plaintiff has previously amended the complaint); see also City of Los

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Angeles v. San Pedro Boat Works, 635 F.3d 440, 454 (9th Cir. 2011) (“[T]he district court’s

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discretion to deny leave to amend is particularly broad where plaintiff has previously amended the

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complaint.”) (quotation omitted).

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Additionally, permitting Snapkeys to file a Fourth Amended Complaint would prejudice

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Google. As explained above, Google has already filed three motions to dismiss in the instant case.

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See ECF Nos. 13, 35, 59. Google has also filed a motion for summary judgment, which is fully

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briefed and soon to be decided by the Court. See ECF No. 98. Google will be unduly prejudiced if

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Google is required to file a fourth motion to dismiss and a second motion for summary judgment.

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Moreover, Google will be unduly prejudiced if the Court significantly delays the case

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schedule at this late stage of the case. Fact discovery has been closed for nearly six months,

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Google’s motion for summary judgment is fully briefed and soon to be decided by the Court, a

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pretrial conference is scheduled for July 15, 2021, and trial is scheduled to begin on August 6,

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2021. A fifth complaint and a fourth motion to dismiss would require that the parties re-brief

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summary judgment and that the Court significantly delay dispositive motions, the pretrial

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Case No. 19-CV-02658-LHK
ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE FOURTH AMENDED COMPLAINT

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conference, and trial.
The Court notes that at Snapkeys’ request, the Court already extended the fact discovery

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deadline in this case from July 31, 2020 to November 27, 2020 and granted associated extensions

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for dispositive motions and trial. Compare ECF No. 27 with ECF No. 64. Thus, the Court

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concludes that amendment would prejudice Google, which also weighs against leave to amend.

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See Eminence Capital, LLC v. Aspeon, Inc., 316 F.3d 1048, 1052 (9th Cir. 2003) (holding that “it

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is the consideration of prejudice to the opposing party that carries the greatest weight” among the

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leave to amend factors).

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Finally, the Court finds undue delay. As explained above, Snapkeys has already filed four
complaints and has had nearly eighteen months in which to finalize the pleadings. Additionally,

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United States District Court
Northern District of California

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Snapkeys stated that Snapkeys planned to seek leave to amend in the parties’ October 21, 2020

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joint case management statement. ECF No. 72 at 1. However, Snapkeys did not file the instant

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motion for leave to amend until December 18, 2020, after fact discovery had closed on November

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27, 2020. Accordingly, the Court finds undue delay, which also weighs against leave to amend.

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See Texaco Inc. v. Ponsoldt, 939 F.2d 794, 798–99 (9th Cir. 1991) (affirming denial of motion for

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leave to amend because of undue delay where, among other things, the plaintiff “waited until after

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discovery was over, just four and a half months before the trial date, before moving to amend its

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complaint”). Furthermore, the Court concludes that Snapkeys has not shown good cause to alter

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the case schedule at this late stage in the case. See Hannon, 887 F. Supp. at 1319 (“The ‘good

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cause’ standard primarily considers the diligence of the party seeking the amendment.”) (internal

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alterations and quotations omitted).

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For the reasons stated above, the Court DENIES Snapkeys’ motion for leave to file a

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Fourth Amended Complaint.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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Dated: May 8, 2021

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______________________________________
LUCY H. KOH
United States District Judge
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Case No. 19-CV-02658-LHK
ORDER DENYING MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE FOURTH AMENDED COMPLAINT