Whelan v. Minnesota Life Insurance Company

Full title: THOMAS WHELAN, Plaintiffs, v. MINNESOTA LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY, Defendant

Court: United States District Court, D. Colorado

Date published: Dec 23, 2010

Civil Action No. 10-cv-01457-RPM (D. Colo. Dec. 23, 2010)

Opinion

Civil Action No. 10-cv-01457-RPM.

December 23, 2010

ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO AMEND COMPLAINT TO ADD CLAIM FOR PUNITIVE DAMAGES

RICHARD MATSCH, District Judge

On November 2, 2010, the plaintiff filed a motion to amend complaint to add a claim for punitive damages and on November 24, 2010, the defendant filed its opposition. The plaintiff filed a reply on December 13, 2010. Attached to these pleadings are exhibits, some of which are filed under seal. Recognizing that this is a case brought under diversity jurisdiction making Colorado law applicable, the Colorado procedure for pleading punitive damages is a procedural provision which is not applicable in this court. Even assuming applicability, it is a waste of judicial resources to evaluate the plaintiff's possible ability to present evidence which would support submitting punitive damages to a jury. Whether or not punitive damages will go to the jury will be determined at trial under the provisions of Fed.R.Civ.P. 50(a). It is now

ORDERED that the plaintiff's motion to amend complaint is granted and the amended complaint tendered therewith as Exhibit 1 is filed.

Dated: December 23^rd, 2010