In Pettaway v. National Recovery Solutions, LLC, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that when a complaint is amended subsequent to a defendant's pending motion to dismiss, the district court can deny the pending motion as moot or consider the merits of the motion in light of the facts alleged in the amended complaint.
On April 9, 2020, in Pettaway v. National Recovery Solutions, LLC, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that when a plaintiff properly amends a complaint after a defendant has filed a motion to dismiss that is still pending, the district court can either deny the pending motion as moot or consider the merits of the motion in light of the facts alleged in the amended complaint. ( (2d Cir. Apr. 9, 2020).)
Jean M. Pettaway, appellant, filed a class action lawsuit against National Recovery Solutions, LLC (NRS) and US Asset Management Inc., alleging illegal practices in connection with their attempts to collect a purported debt. NRS and US Asset filed a motion to dismiss the complaint under Rule 12(b)(6). Pettaway then filed an amended complaint with additional allegations. The clerk rejected the amended complaint, ultimately requiring Pettaway to request permission from the court to re-file. The court denied Pettaway's motion to file an amended complaint, examining the allegations in the amended complaint and effectively determining that it would not survive the pending motion to dismiss. Stating that the amended complaint did not moot the appellees' motion to dismiss because the new allegations did not save her claim, the court granted the motion to dismiss.
Pettaway appealed to the Second Circuit, arguing that her amended complaint was timely filed and mooted the appellees' motion to dismiss. The Second Circuit agreed the amended complaint was timely filed and acknowledged that an amended pleading usually replaces the original and renders it of no legal effect. However, the court noted that the rule does not automatically render a pending motion to dismiss moot. Instead, district courts in the Second Circuit have consistently asserted that when presented with an amended complaint, a court can either deny the pending motion to dismiss as moot or consider the merits of the motion by analyzing the facts alleged in the amended pleading. The Second Circuit formally adopted this rule. In support, the court stated that the rule promotes judicial economy by restricting the need for several rounds of briefing addressing complaints that are legally deficient.
Consequently, the Second Circuit affirmed the judgment of the district court. The court held that there was no error in evaluating the appellees' motion in light of the facts alleged in the amended complaint, and concluded that the district court properly granted appellees' motion to dismiss.
End of Document Resource ID w-024-9680 Document Type Legal update: archivePLC US Federal Litigation, PLC US Law Department