Opinion
CIV-23-496-SLP
07-27-2023
TNT CRANE & RIGGING, INC., Plaintiff, v. TOTAL DEMOLITION SERVICES, LLC, Defendant.
ORDER
SCOTT L, PALK, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
The record reflects that on June 27, 2023, Defendant filed its Answer [Doc. No. 9]. Thereafter, on July 11, 2023, Defendant filed a document headed “Counterclaim” [Doc. No. 15]. A counterclaim is not a stand-alone pleading, but must be stated within a pleading enumerated under Fed.R.Civ.P. 7(a). See, e.g., Crete Carrier Corp. v. Sullivan & Sons, Inc., No. CV-ELH-21-328, 2022 WL 313865 at *6 (D. Md. Feb. 1, 2022); Meierhenry Sargent, LLP v. Williams, No. CIV-16-4180, 2019 WL 2105986 at *4 (D.S.D. May 14, 2019) (accord, collecting cases); KAABOOWorks Servs., LLC v. Pilsl, No. 17-cv-02530-CMA-KLM, 2019 WL 1979927 at *4 (D. Colo. May 3, 2019) (“[A] ‘counterclaim'] is not listed in Rule 7(a); thus, because ‘only' the listed pleadings are allowed, a party may not file a counterclaim by itself as its own pleading.”). Accordingly, the Clerk of Court is directed to STRIKE the Counterclaim. If Defendant intends to pursue a counterclaim, it must seek leave to amend its Answer.
IT IS SO ORDERED