Life Time, Inc. v. CYH.COM LLC
- Katherine Menendez
- 0:19-cv-02651
- U.S. District Court · District of Minnesota
- 6
In Life Time v. CYH.COM LLC, Magistrate Judge Menendez granted amendment as modified and denied sanctions.
Life Time, Inc. was allowed to correct the defendant’s name and was denied fees and costs. CYH.COM LLC d/b/a Cherrish was treated as the named defendant, did not need to be served again, received 40 days to respond to the amended complaint, and received a 90-day extension of the scheduling deadlines.
What happened
Life Time, Inc. v. CYH.COM LLC involved Life Time’s request to correct the defendant’s legal name from “Cherrish Corporation” to CYH.COM LLC, doing business as Cherrish. Life Time also requested fees and costs for bringing the motion.
The court found that the name mistake was understandable, that CYH.COM LLC had notice of the case, and that Cherrish had participated in the case without clearly saying the wrong entity was named. The court also extended the case deadlines by 90 days and allowed 40 days to answer the amended complaint.
United States Magistrate Judge Katherine Menendez granted the motion to amend as modified, directed that the summons be amended without serving it again, and denied Life Time’s motion for sanctions.
The detailed version
- Life Time, Inc. v. CYH.COM LLC · No. 0:19-cv-02651
- Katherine Menendez
- Mar. 26, 2020
Background
Life Time sued an entity identified in a sponsorship agreement as “Cherrish.” Based on Washington business records, Life Time named the defendant as “Cherrish Corporation.” Daniel Haggart was listed as an officer or agent for Cherrish Corporation and for CYH.COM LLC. Cherrish appeared and defended the case under the name “Cherrish Corporation.”
In response to discovery questions, Cherrish stated that “Cherrish Corporation” was a nonexistent entity and that the actual entity should be CYH.COM LLC, doing business as Cherrish. The parties tried to agree on an amendment, but their negotiations failed. Life Time then moved to amend its complaint and sought fees and costs as sanctions.
Amendment
The court applied Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15, which generally allows amendments when justice requires. It also considered rules governing amended summonses and amendments that relate back to the original complaint when the newly named party had notice and knew that the lawsuit resulted from a mistaken identity.
The court concluded that the circumstances supported correcting a misnamed party rather than requiring Life Time to dismiss and refile the case. CYH.COM LLC had notice of the lawsuit, and Cherrish had participated in the litigation, including court conferences and discovery, without clearly informing Life Time that the wrong entity had been named. The court found that Life Time acted promptly after Cherrish clearly identified the alleged naming mistake in its discovery response. The court also rejected Cherrish’s undeveloped arguments that the amendment would be futile or that other parties were necessary.
Sanctions and Order
The court found that amendment was warranted but that Cherrish’s conduct did not justify an award of Life Time’s fees and costs. The court noted that the parties’ failed stipulation was frustrating but expected counsel to maintain a professional and cooperative relationship.
United States Magistrate Judge Katherine Menendez ordered the following:
- Life Time’s motion to amend was granted as modified, and Life Time was directed to file the amended complaint attached to its motion.
- References to “Cherrish Corporation” in the case caption and summons were replaced with “CYH.COM LLC d/b/a Cherrish.”
- The Clerk was directed to issue an amended summons, which did not need to be served again.
- The scheduling-order deadlines were extended by 90 days, and the defendant was given 40 days from the filing of the amended complaint to respond.
- Life Time’s motion for sanctions was denied.
Read the full 6-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.