Opinion
Case No. 14-cv-3854
02-04-2015
BRENDA WASHINGTON, Plaintiff, v. PORTFOLIO RECOVERY ASSOCIATES, LLC and FREEDMAN, ANSELMO LINDBERG, LLC, Defendants.
ORDER
For the reasons stated below, Defendants' motions for leave to file an amended answer [26, 28] are granted. In addition, the deadline for fact discovery is extended to 4/30/2015 and the status hearing date of 2/17/2015 is stricken and reset for 4/29/2015 at 9:00 a.m.
STATEMENT
As the parties have recognized, whether to grant leave to amend lies within the Court's discretion. See Guise v. BWM Mortg., LLC, 377 F.3d 795, 801 (7th Cir. 2004) ("The district court's decision to grant or deny a motion for leave to file an amended pleading is 'a matter purely within the sound discretion of the district court'") (citation omitted). Under FRCP 15, leave shall be freely given when justice so requires, but leave may be denied on the grounds of undue delay, bad faith, dilatory motive, prejudice, or futility. Id. Although Plaintiff raises a good point that Defendants previously indicated on the record that they would not be pursuing a bona fide error defense, the Court is not convinced that adding such a defense at this stage of the case would inflict substantial prejudice on Plaintiff or reflects either bad faith or dilatory motive on the part of the Defendants. Discovery remains ongoing and a short extension of 60 days—which Plaintiff contends would be necessary and Defendants do not oppose—should be more than adequate to allow the parties to adequately explore the factual bases for all of the claims and defenses in this case, including the proposed BFE defense. Accordingly, Defendants' motions for leave to file amended answer [26, 28] are granted and the deadline for fact discovery is extended to 4/30/2015. The status hearing date of 2/17/2015 is stricken and reset for 4/29/2015 at 9:00 a.m. Dated: February 4, 2015
/s/_________
Robert M. Dow, Jr.
United States District Judge