Pepe v. 4e Brand North America, LLC

Background

The plaintiffs are Katherine Pepe, Patricia Donadio, and June Vonderchek, individually and on behalf of other similarly situated people. On November 10, 2020, 4e Brand North America, LLC moved to dismiss the complaint.

Order

The court ordered the plaintiffs to notify the court by November 20, 2020, whether they intended to file an amended complaint in response to the motion to dismiss or would rely on the complaint already challenged by that motion.

If the plaintiffs chose not to amend, the motion to dismiss would proceed under the regular schedule. The court stated that it was unlikely to grant the plaintiffs another opportunity to amend to address deficiencies made apparent by the fully briefed arguments in the motion. The deadlines for opposition and reply papers would be governed by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and the court's local rules unless the court ordered otherwise.

If the plaintiffs chose to amend, they had to file the amended complaint no later than 14 days after notifying the court of that choice. Within 21 days after the amendment, the defendant could answer the amended complaint, file a motion to dismiss it, or notify the court that it would rely on its original motion to dismiss.

Disposition and Effect

Judge Vincent L. Briccetti issued a scheduling and case-management order; the opinion does not state that the court granted or denied the pending motion to dismiss. The order therefore addressed the plaintiffs' amendment choice and the next procedural steps, without deciding the merits of the complaint or the dismissal motion.