IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA SOUTHERN DIVISION

TERESA FARIS, ) ) Plaintiff, ) ) vs. ) Civil Action No. 24-00381-KD-B ) DREAMLAND HOLDING COMPANY, ) LLC, ) ) Defendant. )

ORDER

This action, brought pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act, is now before the Court on the Motion to Strike filed by Plaintiff Teresa Faris (doc. 13). Faris moves pursuant to Rule 12(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure to strike Defendant Dreamland Holding Company LLC’s Sixth, Seventh, Tenth, and Fifteenth Affirmative Defenses. Dreamland was ordered to respond on or before December 12, 2024, and Faris was ordered to reply on or before December 19, 2024 (doc. 14). However, Dreamland did not respond but instead filed an Amended Answer. To date, Faris has not moved to strike or otherwise responded to the Amended Answer. The Amended Answer was properly filed on November 26, 2024, which was within twenty-one (21) days of service of the Answer on November 12, 2024 (docs. 10, 15). Therefore, the Amended Answer is now the operative answer. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(1)(A) (“A party may amend its pleading once as a matter of course no later than: [ ] 21 days after serving it[.]”); See, e.g., Porter Pizza Box of Fla., Inc. v. Pratt Corrugated Holdings, Inc., No. 18-CV-00063- AT,

, at *2 (N.D. Ga. Sept. 10, 2018) (citing Pintado v. Miami-Dade Housing Agency,

(11th Cir. 2007)) (denying as moot Plaintiff’s motion to dismiss a counterclaim where “Defendant timely amended its counterclaim as a matter of right under Rule 15(a)(1)(B)” and finding that the “Amended Answer and Counterclaim is the operative pleading”). Additionally, Dreamland appears to have removed or amended the disputed Affirmative Defenses. Dreamland removed its Sixth Defense based on equitable doctrines, amended its

former Seventh Defense with regard to setoff for additional amounts paid (now its Sixth Defense), amended its Tenth Defense to remove the defense of laches, and removed the Fifteenth Defense (Compare doc. 10 to doc. 15). Upon consideration of the foregoing, Faris’ Rule 12(f) motion to strike Dreamland’s Answer is dismissed as MOOT. DONE and ORDERED this 27th day of December 2024.

s / Kristi K. DuBose KRISTI K. DuBOSE UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE