Colgan v. Sentinel Insurance Company, Ltd.
- Haywood Gilliam
- 4:20-cv-04780
- U.S. District Court · Northern District of California
- 2
In Colgan v. Sentinel Insurance, Judge Gilliam ordered a response about dismissal after Colgan declined to amend his complaint.
James Colgan and Sentinel Insurance Company, Ltd.; the order specifically required Colgan to clarify whether he sought dismissal with prejudice or without prejudice.
What happened
Colgan v. Sentinel Insurance Company, Ltd. concerns the next step after the court granted Sentinel’s motion for judgment on the pleadings. The court had allowed James Colgan 21 days to amend his complaint.
Instead, Colgan said he would not amend and asked the court to dismiss the action without prejudice. The court explained that a plaintiff who declines to amend in order to appeal should request dismissal with prejudice.
Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. ordered Colgan to submit a one-page statement by March 8, 2021, confirming whether he seeks dismissal with prejudice or explaining, with supporting case law, why dismissal without prejudice would permit an immediate appeal.
The detailed version
- Colgan v. Sentinel Insurance Company, Ltd. · No. 4:20-cv-04780
- Haywood Gilliam
- Mar. 2, 2021
Background
On January 26, 2021, the court granted Sentinel Insurance Company, Ltd.’s motion for judgment on the pleadings and allowed James Colgan 21 days to file an amended complaint. Instead of amending, Colgan filed a notice stating that he did not intend to file an amended complaint and requested dismissal of the action without prejudice.
Court’s Analysis
The court recognized that a plaintiff may choose to stand on the existing pleading. It explained, however, that when a plaintiff declines to amend so that the dismissal can be appealed, the proper procedure under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), which addresses failure to state a legally sufficient claim, is dismissal with prejudice.
Order
The court ordered Colgan to submit a one-page statement by March 8, 2021. The statement had to confirm whether he declined to amend and sought dismissal with prejudice to allow an immediate appeal. Alternatively, if Colgan maintained that dismissal without prejudice would allow an immediate appeal, he had to cite Supreme Court or Ninth Circuit case law supporting that position despite the rule discussed by the court. This order directed Colgan to clarify the requested form of dismissal; it did not state that the court had entered either dismissal at this stage. Judge Haywood S. Gilliam, Jr. signed the order.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.