The Hanover Insurance Group v. DNH Business Consultants, P.C., et al

Filing 29

WRITTEN Opinion entered by the Honorable Samuel Der-Yeghiayan on 8/8/2012: For the reasons stated below, Plaintiff's motion to vacate judgment 23 is denied. Plaintiff's motion for leave to file an amended complaint 23 is improper at this juncture and is denied since a final judgment has been entered in this case. Mailed notice(vcf, )

Order Form (01/2005)

United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois
Name of Assigned Judge
or Magistrate Judge

Samuel Der-Yeghiayan

CASE NUMBER

12 C 565

CASE
TITLE

Sitting Judge if Other
than Assigned Judge

DATE

8/8/2012

The Hanover Insurance Group, et al. Vs. DNH Business Consultants, P.C., et al.

DOCKET ENTRY TEXT

For the reasons stated below, Plaintiff’s motion to vacate judgment [23] is denied. Plaintiff’s motion for
leave to file an amended complaint [23] is improper at this juncture and is denied since a final judgment has
been entered in this case.

O[ For further details see text below.]

Docketing to mail notices.

STATEMENT
This matter is before the court on Plaintiff The Hanover Insurance Group’s (Hanover) motion to
vacate judgment and motion for leave to file an amended complaint. On May 23, 2012, the court granted
Defendants’ motion to dismiss and, in accordance with Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 58(b), the Clerk of
Court promptly entered judgment on the same day. Hanover now moves to vacate the May 23, 2012 ruling
and for leave to file an amended complaint.
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 59(e) (Rule 59(e)), a party can file a motion to alter or
amend a judgment within 28 days after the entry of judgment. Rule 59(e) motions do not give a party the
opportunity to rehash old arguments or to present new arguments or evidence “that could and should have
been presented to the district court prior to the judgment.” Moro v. Shell Oil Co., 91 F.3d 872, 876 (7th Cir.
1996)(citing LB Credit Corp. v. Resolution Trust Corp., 49 F.3d 1263, 1267 (7th Cir. 1995)). Rather, for a
Rule 59(e) motion, the movant “must clearly establish either a manifest error of law or fact or must present
newly discovered evidence” in order to be successful. LB Credit Corp., 49 F.3d at 1267 (quoting Federal
Deposit Ins. Corp. v. Meyer, 781 F.2d 1260, 1268 (7th Cir. 1986)). The decision of whether to grant or deny
a motion brought pursuant to Rule 59(e) “is entrusted to the sound judgment of the district court. . . .” In re
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12C565 The Hanover Insurance Group, et al. Vs. DNH Business Consultants, P.C., et al.

STATEMENT
Prince, 85 F.3d 314, 324 (7th Cir. 1996).
Hanover argues that the court erred by dismissing the instant action without giving Hanover an
opportunity to file an amended complaint to correct the deficiencies in its complaint. The court, in granting
Defendants’ motion to dismiss, was not required to provide Hanover with an opportunity to file an amended
complaint before dismissing the action. See, e.g., Sigsworth v. City of Aurora, Ill., 487 F.3d 506, 512 (7th
Cir. 2007). It was incumbent upon Hanover to plead the necessary facts for a negligent misrepresentation
claim in accordance with the Seventh Circuit’s ruling in Tricontinental Industries, Ltd. v.
PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, 475 F.3d 824 (7th Cir. 2007). Hanover was given ample notice of the
deficiencies in its complaint. Defendants, in their memorandum in support of their motion to dismiss,
pointed to the holding in Tricontinental, and explained the related deficiencies in the complaint filed by
Hanover in this action. Hanover, when faced with Defendants’ motion to dismiss and legal arguments, could
have elected to move for leave to file an amended complaint, which would have not risked any prejudice to
Hanover. Instead, Hanover opted to oppose the motion to dismiss, resulting in the additional expenditure of
Defendants’ resources and judicial resources. Hanover has not shown that after failing in its chosen path, it
is entitled to go back to square one and take another bite at the apple by filing an amended complaint, which
could then potentially lead to yet another round of briefing on a motion to dismiss.
Hanover also argues that Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15 (Rule 15) provides that a court should
give leave to amend a complaint when justice so requires. (Reply 4). However, Rule 15 provides the
applicable standard for seeking leave to file an amended complaint in a live case. See, e.g., Sigsworth, 487
F.3d at 512. Hanover chose not to file such a motion for leave to amend, and instead litigated the motion to
dismiss and waited until the motion to dismiss was briefed and ruled upon and a final judgment had been
entered in this case. Hanover has not presented any new arguments or evidence or shown that the court erred
in dismissing the instant action, nor has Hanover shown that the judgment in this case should be vacated
pursuant to Rule 59(e). In addition, to the extent that Hanover moves to vacate the judgment pursuant to
Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b), Hanover has not pointed to any extraordinary circumstances that
would warrant granting the motion to vacate. Therefore, the motion to vacate is denied. The motion for
leave to file an amended complaint is improper at this juncture and is denied since a final judgment has been
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12C565 The Hanover Insurance Group, et al. Vs. DNH Business Consultants, P.C., et al.

STATEMENT
entered in this case.

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12C565 The Hanover Insurance Group, et al. Vs. DNH Business Consultants, P.C., et al.