McGinnis v. Allstate Insurance Company et al

Filing 33

ORDER granting in part and denying in part 26 Motion to Strike 25 Amended Complaint ; granting 28 Motion to Amend/Correct Scheduling Order, Defendant must file its Answer to Plaintiffs Amended Complaint on orbefore April 28, 2015. Signed by Chief Judge Frank D. Whitney on 04/13/2015. (jlk)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
CHARLOTTE DIVISION
DOCKET NO. 3:14-cv-00581-FDW-DCK
LAQUITA NICHOLE MCGINNIS,
Plaintiff,
vs.
ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY,
Defendant.

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ORDER

THIS MATTER is before the Court on Defendant Allstate Insurance Company’s
(“Defendant’s”) Motion to Strike Amended Complaint or Alternative Motion for Extension of
Time to Answer or Respond (Doc. No. 26) and Plaintiff Laquita Nichole McGinnis’ (“Plaintiff’s”)
Motion to Amend the Scheduling Order and Motion to Amend Complaint (Doc. No. 28). For the
reasons set forth herein, and pursuant to the terms of this Order, Defendant’s Motion to Strike is
GRANTED in part and DENIED in part and Plaintiff’s Motion to Amend is GRANTED.
On March 11, 2015, the deadline for the parties to file any motions to amend the pleadings,1
Plaintiff filed an Amended Complaint. (Doc. No. 25). Defendant asserts that prior to filing the
Amended Complaint, Plaintiff did not seek consent from defense counsel, nor leave from this
Court to amend the pleadings. Plaintiff acknowledges that the “Amended Complaint was filed in
error by counsel, without an accompanying motion to amend the complaint or consent of the
Defendant, as required by [Rule 15 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure].” (Doc. No. 31). On

Pursuant to the Court’s Case Management Order, entered on January 16, 2015, March 11, 2015 was the deadline for
the parties to file “[a]ny motion for leave to join additional parties or otherwise to amend the pleadings.” (Doc. No.
18).
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March 20, 2015, after realizing this error, Plaintiff filed the above-mentioned motion to amend the
Scheduling Order and Complaint. (Doc. No. 28).
Because Plaintiff missed the deadlines for amending its Complaint as a matter of course
under Rule 15(a), Plaintiff was required to obtain Defendant’s written consent, or the Court’s
leave, prior to filing its Amended Complaint. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(b). As noted, there is no
dispute that Plaintiff failed to abide by this rule.
Rule 6 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure allows the Court, for good cause, to extend
the time for a motion to be made after the time has expired for the motion to be filed. Fed. R. Civ.
P. 6(b)(2). The Court notes that while Plaintiff failed to seek Defendant’s consent, or the Court’s
leave, prior to filing its Amended Complaint, it did file the Amended Complaint in a timely
manner, i.e., by the deadline set in the Court’s Scheduling Order for the parties to amend their
pleadings. Therefore, but for Plaintiff’s procedural error, the Court would have been bound to
“freely” grant leave for Plaintiff to file its Amended Complaint as “justice so requires.” See Fed.
R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2). Because the Court finds that it would be terribly harsh to deny Plaintiff her
day in court because of a modest procedural error by Plaintiff’s attorney, the Court GRANTS
Plaintiff’s Motion to Amend the Scheduling Order and Complaint and DENIES Defendant’s
Motion to the extent it seeks to strike Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint. Accordingly, the Court
effectively extends the deadline for Plaintiff to file its motion for leave to amend its Complaint,
and the Amended Complaint, filed on March 11, 2015, is deemed as filed in a timely manner. As
such, the Court GRANTS Defendant’s Motion to the extent it seeks an extension of time to answer
the Amended Complaint. Defendant must file its Answer to Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint on or
before April 28, 2015. All other deadlines provided in the Court’s Scheduling Order remain in
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effect.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion to Amend the Scheduling Order
and Motion to Amend Complaint is GRANTED, as outlined above. Accordingly, Defendant’s
Motion to Strike Amended Complaint or Alternative Motion for Extension of Time to Answer or
Respond is GRANTED as to Defendant’s request for an extension of time to answer Plaintiff’s
Amended Complaint and DENIED as to Defendant’s motion to strike Plaintiff’s Amended
Complaint. Defendant must filed its Answer to Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint on or before April
28, 2015.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Signed: April 13, 2015

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