Cheng v. United States

Background

On June 8, 2023, Sheng-Wen Cheng filed an amended complaint. The United States had filed a motion to dismiss on April 10, 2023, and that motion was still pending. The court noted that Cheng was representing himself and that the amended complaint was filed more than 21 days after the motion to dismiss. Under the applicable federal rule, the amendment technically could be filed only with the court’s permission or the opposing party’s consent. The court stated that, because of Cheng’s self-represented status and the rule’s direction to freely allow amendments when justice requires, it would not bar the filing.

Issue and governing procedure

The court cited the rule that, when a plaintiff properly amends a complaint after a defendant has filed a still-pending motion to dismiss, the court may either deny the pending motion as moot or evaluate it based on the amended complaint. Treating a motion as moot means the court would not decide that motion because the amended pleading superseded the earlier one; the defendant could then file a new motion under the federal rules.

Ruling

The court ordered the United States to file a letter by June 21, 2023. The letter had to state whether the court should treat the current motion to dismiss as moot, without prejudice to filing a new motion under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)(3), or instead evaluate the current motion using the amended complaint’s allegations. Judge Vernon S. Broderick did not rule on the merits of the motion to dismiss or the underlying claims.