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

CENTURY SURETY COMPANY, ) Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) CIVIL ACTION NO. 1:25-00178-TFM-N ) MONTASER SHAHROUJ and ) STEPHEN LAWRENCE WRIGHT, ) Defendants. ) ORDER GRANTING LEAVE TO AMEND COMPLAINT This civil action is before the Court on the “Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to File Second Amended Complaint for Declaratory Judgment” under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)(2) filed July 18, 2025 (Doc# 20). The assigned District Judge has referred said motion to the undersigned Magistrate Judge for appropriate action under

(a)-(b), Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 72, and S.D. Ala. GenLR 72(a). See S.D. Ala. GenLR 72(b); (7/28/2025 electronic reference notation). When, as here, the time to amend a pleading once as a matter of course under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)(1) has expired, and a party seeking to amend has not obtained “the opposing party’s written consent[,]” “a party may amend its pleading only with…the court’s leave. The court should freely give leave when justice so requires.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2). No opposition to the present motion was filed by the August 15, 2025 deadline for responses to said motion (see Doc# 21), and the undersigned finds no apparent grounds to deny said motion sua sponte. See Foman v. Davis,

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(1962) (“Rule 15(a) declares that leave to amend ‘shall be freely given when justice so requires'; this mandate is to be heeded…In the absence of any apparent or declared reason—such as 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, futility of amendment, etc.—the leave sought should, as the rules require, be ‘freely given.’ ”). Accordingly, the Plaintiff’s “Motion for Leave to File Second Amended Complaint for Declaratory Judgment” filed July 18, 2025 (Doc# 20) is GRANTED. The Plaintiff must file the proposed second amended complaint attached to said motion as a stand-alone pleading, and serve it on all parties required to be served under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 5, no later than AUGUST 25, 2025. Unless

and until the second amended complaint is so filed, the First Amended Complaint (Doc# 5) shall remain the operative complaint in this action. Upon its timely filing, the defendants shall serve their answers to the Second Amended Complaint within the time set by Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)(3) (“Unless the court orders otherwise, any required response to an amended pleading must be made within the time remaining to respond to the original pleading or within

14 days after service of the amended pleading, whichever is later.”). DONE and ORDERED this the 20th day of August 2025. /s/ Katherine P. Nelson KATHERINE P. NELSON UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE