Opinion
Civil Action 3:23-cv-00083-TES
10-25-2023
AMANDA BESS, Plaintiff. v. THE DENTAL SCHEDULING CENTER INC. et al., Defendants.
ORDER DENYING DEFENDANTS' MOTION TO DISMISS AS MOOT
TILMAN E. SELF, III, JUDGE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
Before Plaintiff Amanda Bess filed her Amended Complaint [Doc. 9], Defendants, The Dental Scheduling Center, Inc. and Smith Dental Care of Athens, Inc., filed a Motion to Dismiss [Doc. 4] Plaintiff's original Complaint [Doc. 1].
Under black-letter federal law, “an amended complaint supersedes the initial complaint and becomes the operative pleading in the case.” Lowery v. Ala. Power Co., 483 F.3d 1184, 1219 (11th Cir. 2007) (citations omitted). This means that “the original pleading is abandoned by the amendment, and [it] is no longer a part of the pleader's averments against his adversary.” Dresdner Bank AG v. M/V Olympia Voyager, 463 F.3d 1210, 1215 (11th Cir. 2006) (citation omitted); see also Hoefling v. City of Miami, 811 F.3d 1271, 1277 (11th Cir. 2016) (initial pleading “bec[o]me[s] a legal nullity”).
But, an original complaint would still have legal effect if “the amendment specifically refers to or adopts the earlier pleading.” Varnes v. Local 91, Glass Bottle Blowers Ass'n, 674 F.2d 1365, 1370 n.6 (11th Cir. 1982) (citation omitted). An amended complaint that does not incorporate the prior pleading, however, moots “the motion to dismiss the original complaint because the motion seeks to dismiss a pleading that has been superseded.” Wimberly v. Broome, No. 6:15-cv-23, 2016 WL 3264346, at *1 (S.D. Ga. Mar. 29, 2016) (citing cases).
The Court has reviewed Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint and found no reference to, or adoption of, any allegations set forth in its original Complaint. Therefore, Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint is the sole operative pleading in this case and renders moot the Defendants' pending Motion to Dismiss. Accordingly, the Court DENIES Defendants' Motion to Dismiss [Doc. 4] as moot.
SO ORDERED.