Opinion
Civil Action No. 09-cv-00262-CMA-KMT.
August 18, 2009
ORDER
This matter is before the court on Plaintiff's "Motion to Take Leave to File First Amended Complaint." ([Doc. No. 26] [filed June 5, 2009] [hereinafter "Mot."].) Plaintiff seeks to amend the Complaint to add "necessary ERICA claims governing the employment-based insurance claims." (Mot. at 1.) Defendant did not file a Response. The deadline to amend pleadings was July 6, 2009, therefore Plaintiff's Motion is timely filed.
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provide that a party may amend a pleading by leave of court, and that leave shall be given freely when justice so requires. Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(a). Although the federal rules permit and require liberal construction and amendment of pleadings, the rules do not grant the parties unlimited rights of amendment. A motion to amend may be denied on the grounds of undue delay, bad faith or dilatory motive on the part of the movant, repeated failure to cure deficiencies by amendments previously allowed, undue prejudice to the opposing party by virtue of allowance of the amendment, or futility of amendment. Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182 (1962).
This is Plaintiff's first motion to amend the complaint. Upon review of the Proposed Amended Complaint, the court finds no indication of undue delay, bad faith, prejudice to the defendant or dilatory motive on the part of the plaintiff. See id. Moreover, the court finds the proposed amendments are not futile. See id. Therefore, finding the Motion unopposed, Plaintiff's Motion (#26) is GRANTED. The Clerk of Court is directed to file the First Amended Complaint, heretofore attached to the Motion (#26-2).
Furthermore, "Defendant's Motion to Dismiss" (#9, filed March 11, 2009) is DENIED as moot, as it is no longer directed at the operative complaint.