Briggs v. Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company et al

Filing 24

ORDER granting 21 plaintiff's motion for leave to add party and file first amended complaint. Plaintiff shall file her first amended complaint on or before 3/10/15; and denying as moot 12 defendant HighPointe Financial Group, LLC's Motion to Dismiss. Signed on 3/4/15 by District Judge Fernando J. Gaitan, Jr. (Enss, Rhonda)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
WESTERN DIVISION

NATALIE K. BRIGGS,

)
)
Plaintiff,
)
)
v.
)
)
MASS MUTUAL LIFE INSURANCE
)
)
COMPANY; HIGHPOINTE FINANCIAL
GROUP, LLC; JEREMY BAKER, AND HENRY )
GARCIA
)
)
Defendants.
)

Case No. 14-cv-00946-FJG

ORDER

Pending before the Court are (1) Defendant HighPointe Financial Group, LLC’s
Motion to Dismiss (Doc. No. 12); and (2) Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to Add Party
Plaintiff and to File First Amended Complaint (Doc. No. 21).
Plaintiff, in response to one of the arguments made in the motion to dismiss,
seeks to add the Estate of Karen Jean Boydston-Berry as a party plaintiff. The only
opposition to plaintiff’s motion for leave to file first amended complaint is contained in a
footnote to Defendant HighPointe’s reply suggestions to its motion to dismiss (Doc. No.
23, n. 3), requesting that the Court rule on its motion to dismiss before addressing
whether plaintiff be allowed to file an amended complaint. Defendant HighPointe also
indicates that it reserves the right to move to dismiss any claims that plaintiff Briggs
seeks to assert in an amended pleading.

Given that none of the defendants filed suggestions in opposition to the motion
for leave to amend, the Court believes the better course of action would be to allow the
amendment. Rule 15(a)(2) provides that the “court should freely give leave [to amend]
when justice so requires.”
Therefore, plaintiff’s motion for leave to add party and file first amended
complaint (Doc. No. 21) is GRANTED. Plaintiff shall file her first amended complaint on
ECF on or before MARCH 10, 2015. Defendant HighPointe Financial Group, LLC’s
Motion to Dismiss (Doc. No. 12) is DENIED AS MOOT.

IT IS SO ORDERED.
/S/ FERNANDO J. GAITAN, JR.
Fernando J. Gaitan, Jr.
United States District Judge
Dated: _March 4, 2015_
Kansas City, Missouri

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