Caples v. Thiel et al

Filing 20

ORDER signed by Judge Pamela Pepper on 4/22/2019 DENYING 18 plaintiff's letter motion to clarify order. Plaintiff's amended complaint due by 5/10/2019. (cc: all counsel, via mail to Shannon Caples)(cb)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF WISCONSIN
______________________________________________________________________________
SHANNON KELLY CAPLES,
Plaintiff,
v.

Case No. 17-cv-1797-pp

DALE JACOBY, et al.,
Defendants.
______________________________________________________________________________
ORDER DENYING LETTER MOTION TO CLARIFY (DKT. NO. 18)
______________________________________________________________________________
On March 11, 2019, the court granted the defendants’ motion to dismiss,
but gave the plaintiff the opportunity to amend her complaint. Dkt. No. 17. The
court ordered that, if the plaintiff wanted to amend the complaint, she needed
to do so by the end of the day on Friday, April 19, 2019. Id.
On April 18, 2019—the day before the amended complaint was due—the
plaintiff filed a letter, asking the court for advice. Dkt. No. 18. She said that the
court’s sixteen-page order of March 11, 2019 was not clear, because it did not
tell her whether she could “amend to add the company as a Defendant—and
would therefore not take issue with relation back should company be added to
an amended complaint,” or whether “the court is merely advising that Plaintiff
would be permitted to amend to clarify that the named Defendants are named
in their role(s) on behalf of the employer rather than personally.” Id. She says
she can’t file an amended complaint until she receives this “clarification.”

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The court will not provide any more “clarification” than it already has
provided. Contrary to the appearance given by the court’s March 11, 2019
order, this court cannot give a party legal advice. The order pointed out what
was wrong with the plaintiff’s complaint. It is up to her to figure out how to fix
it—either on her own, or with the assistance of a lawyer. The plaintiff seems to
want assurance that if she amends the complaint in a certain way, the court
will allow the case to go forward and will not grant any future motion to
dismiss the defendants might file. The court cannot give the plaintiff that
assurance. As the court stated on page 14 of its order, the plaintiff must
decide how to amend the complaint. If, in response to that amended complaint,
the defendants file a motion to dismiss and argue that the complaint is legally
insufficient, the court will decide that motion just as it did the previous motion.
The court DENIES the plaintiff’s letter motion to clarify. The court
ORDERS that the deadline for the plaintiff to amend her complaint is
EXTENDED to Friday, May 10, 2019. If the court does not receive an
amended complaint by the end of the day on May 10, 2019, the court will
dismiss the case for failure to state a claim.
Dated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin this 22nd day of April, 2019.
BY THE COURT:

_________________________________________
HON. PAMELA PEPPER
United States District Judge

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