Amy v. Curtis
- Laurel Beeler
- 3:19-cv-02184
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 1
In Amy v. Curtis, Judge Hamilton granted plaintiffs’ request to file a first amended complaint and canceled the scheduled hearing.
The plaintiffs were allowed to file a first amended complaint, and the defendant faced continued litigation under the amended pleading. The scheduled hearing was canceled.
What happened
In Amy v. Curtis, the plaintiffs asked for permission to file a first amended complaint. The court noted that federal rules generally allow amendments freely when fairness requires it.
The court found that the request was timely, that the defendant would not be unfairly harmed, and that his objection based on the alleged futility of the amendment was misplaced. The court granted the motion and canceled the March 11, 2020 hearing.
Judge Phyllis J. Hamilton issued the order on March 6, 2020. The order addressed only the plaintiffs’ request to amend their complaint and did not decide the underlying claims.
The detailed version
- Amy v. Curtis · No. 3:19-cv-02184
- Laurel Beeler
- Mar. 6, 2020
Background
The plaintiffs moved for permission to file a first amended complaint. Because the defendant had answered, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15 required the plaintiffs to obtain either the defendant’s consent or the court’s permission. The rule states that permission should be freely given when justice requires it.
The court noted that the plaintiffs filed their motion within the timeframe set by the court’s case-management and pretrial order. The defendant argued that the proposed amendment would be futile, but the court found that argument misplaced. The court also found that the defendant would not be unduly prejudiced by the amended complaint.
Ruling
The court GRANTED the plaintiffs’ motion to file a first amended complaint. It also VACATED the hearing scheduled for March 11, 2020. This order concerned amendment of the pleadings and did not resolve the underlying claims.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.