Opinion
Civil Action 19-00663-BAJ-SDJ
08-19-2021
REGINALD WILLIAMS v. NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE LLC
ORDER
BRIAN A. JACKSON, JUDGE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA.
Before the Court is Defendant's Rule 12(c) Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 25). The Motion is unopposed.
On July 2, 2021, Plaintiff was granted leave to file an amended complaint. See (Doc. 41); (Doc. 42). Courts vary in approach when a plaintiff amends his complaint while a Rule 12 motion is pending. See Melson v. Vista World Inc. & Assocs., No. CIV.A. 12-135, 2012 WL 6002680, at *12 (E.D. La. Nov. 30, 2012). Nonetheless, “many district courts-including those in this Circuit-routinely deny as moot motions to dismiss that are filed prior to an amendment of a complaint.” La. v. Bank of Am. Corp., No. CV 19-638-SDD-SDJ, 2020 WL 3966875, at *5 (M.D. La. July 13, 2020) (citing Garcia v. City of Amarillo, Tex., No. 2:18-CV-95-D-BR, 2018 WL 6272461, at *1 (N.D. Tex. Oct. 29, 2018), report and recommendation adopted, No. 2:18-CV-095-D, 2018 WL 6268222 (N.D. Tex. Nov. 30, 2018), at *1 (“[A]n amended complaint, which supersedes the original complaint as the operative live pleading, renders moot a motion to dismiss the original complaint.”); Xtria, LLC v. Int'l Ins. All. Inc., No. CIV.A.309-CV-2228-D, 2010 WL 1644895, at *2 (N.D. Tex. Apr. 22, 2010) (“Because [the plaintiff] has been granted leave to amend, [the defendant's] motions to dismiss and for judgment on the pleadings are denied without prejudice as moot.”) (additional citations omitted)). While a court may apply a pending Rule 12 motion to a newly amended complaint, it should nonetheless deny the pending motion as moot if that application “would cause confusion or detract from the efficient resolution of the issues.” Rodgers on Behalf of CJTJ v. Gusman, No. CV 16-16303, 2019 WL 186669 at *2 (E.D. La. Jan. 14, 2019) (In that situation, “it makes sense to require the defendant to file a new motion specifically addressing the amended complaint.”).
Here, Plaintiff's Amended Complaint was filed with the intent of addressing and potentially remedying the issues raised in the pending motion to dismiss. See (Doc. 28-1, p. 2-3). To promote the efficient resolution of this matter, the Court will deny Defendants' pending Motion to Dismiss as moot. (Doc. 25). The Court will permit Defendants to re-urge their Motion if, after reviewing the comprehensive version of the Amended Complaint, Defendants can provide support for the argument that Plaintiff has failed to state a claim and that the Court lacks jurisdiction over this matter.
Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that Defendant's Motion (Doc. 25) is DENIED.