Opinion
4:23-CV-187-DMB-DAS
05-17-2024
STEPHEN LEWIS PLAINTIFF v. INVESTIGATOR CORY WEATHERSPOON, et al. DEFENDANTS
ORDER
DEBRA M. BROWN, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
On January 5, 2024, Washington County, Mississippi, Washington County Public Defender Office, Attorney Martin Sanders, and Supervisor Patricia Rogers filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings based on Stephen Lewis' original complaint. Doc. #9. On April 24, 2024, with leave of the Court, Lewis filed an amended complaint adding Investigator Cory Weatherspoon, in his official and individual capacity, as a named defendant. Docs. #27, #28. The defendants named in the amended complaint together filed an “Answer and Affirmative Defenses to First Amended Complaint” on May 8, 2024. Doc. #33.
“An amended complaint supersedes [an] original complaint and renders it of no legal effect unless the amended complaint specifically refers to and adopts or incorporates by reference the earlier pleading.” New Orleans Ass'n of Cemetery Tour Guides & Co. v. New Orleans Archdiocesan Cemeteries, 56 F.4th 1026, 1033 (5th Cir. 2023) (quoting King v. Dogan, 31 F.3d 344, 346 (5th Cir. 1994)). “Once filed, [an] amended complaint render[s] all earlier motions ... moot.” Griffith v. Am. Zurich Ins. Co., 697 Fed.Appx. 793, 797 (5th Cir. 2017).
Because the amended complaint here does not incorporate the original complaint, the motion for judgment on the pleadings [9] is DENIED as moot.
The amended complaint appears to allege more and/or different claims than the original complaint. Compare Doc. #1 with Doc. #28.
SO ORDERED.