Opinion
Civil Action No. 13-cv-00141-CMA-KMT
04-01-2013
DAVID BRACKHAHN, and CATHERINE BRACKHAHN, Plaintiffs, v. BRITNEY BEALS-EDER, The Castle Law Group Attorney # 34935, REAGAN LARKIN, The Castle Law Group Attorney # 42309, THE CASTLE LAW GROUP, LLC, JAMES A. CASEY, Magistrate District Court, Archuleta County, CO, STEVEN ABREU, CEO, GMAC Mortgage, LLC, KARI KRULL, Witness and Litigation Analyst GMAC Mortgage, LLC, GMAC MORTGAGE, LLC, and JOHN DOES 1-10, Defendants.
Magistrate Judge Kathleen M. Tafoya
MINUTE ORDER
ORDER ENTERED BY MAGISTRATE JUDGE KATHLEEN M. TAFOYA
This matter is before the court on "Plaintiff[s'] Motion to Strike the 'Castle Defendants' Motion to Dismiss Complaint Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6)" (Doc. No. 27, filed March 27, 2013) and Plaintiffs' "Motion to Strike 'Motion to Dismiss of Defendant Casey' " (Doc. No. 28, filed March 27, 2013). To the extent Plaintiffs seek to strike the motions to dismiss, Federal Rule of Procedure 12(f) provides that "[t]he court may strike from a pleading an insufficient defense or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter." Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(f) (emphasis added). Motions and other papers are not pleadings. See Fed. R. Civ. Pro. 7. "[T]here is no provision in the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for motions to strike motions and memoranda." Searcy v. Soc. Sec. Admin., No. 91-4181, 1992 WL 43490, at *2 (10th Cir. March 2, 1992)(unpublished). "Only material included in a 'pleading' may be the subject of a motion to strike, and courts have been unwilling to construe the term broadly. Motions, briefs, or memoranda, objections, or affidavits may not be attacked by the motion to strike." 2 JAMES WM. MOORE ET.AL., MOORE'S FEDERAL PRACTICE § 12.37[2] (3d ed. 2004) (cited with approval in Searcy). The motions to dismiss are not pleadings that may be the subject of a motion to strike. Therefore, Plaintiffs' motions (Doc. Nos. 27 and 28) are DENIED. However, the motions are construed by the court as responses to the motions to dismiss (Doc. Nos. 10 and 16) and will be considered by the court when it issues a recommendation on such motions.