Buckhorn v. Hettinger
- Thomas Hixson
- 3:15-cv-04352
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 1
In Buckhorn v. Hettinger, Judge Hixson granted plaintiffs leave to file a third amended complaint alleging a state-law breach-of-contract claim.
The plaintiffs may file a third amended complaint by July 24, 2020; the order also affects the defendant because the litigation will proceed with the possibility of an amended pleading.
What happened
In Buckhorn v. Hettinger, the plaintiffs asked to amend their complaint after the Ninth Circuit determined that their second amended complaint did not properly allege a state-law breach-of-contract claim.
The plaintiffs made the request under Rule 15(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The defendants did not oppose it, and the court canceled the scheduled hearing.
Judge Hixson granted the plaintiffs leave to file a third amended complaint by July 24, 2020. The order did not decide whether the breach-of-contract claim would ultimately succeed.
The detailed version
- Buckhorn v. Hettinger · No. 3:15-cv-04352
- Thomas Hixson
- July 20, 2020
Background
The plaintiffs sought permission under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a) to file a third amended complaint. They made the request after the Ninth Circuit determined that they had not properly alleged a state-law breach-of-contract claim in their second amended complaint.
Court’s Analysis
The court considered the relevant factors governing requests for leave to amend a complaint. It noted that those requests should be evaluated with all inferences in favor of granting the motion. The defendants did not file an opposition. The court also found that oral argument was unnecessary and vacated the scheduled August 13, 2020 hearing.
Ruling
The court granted the plaintiffs leave to file a third amended complaint by July 24, 2020. No chambers copy was required. This order addressed permission to amend the pleading; it did not decide the ultimate merits of the breach-of-contract claim.
Read the full 1-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.