United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida GS Holistic, LLC, Plaintiff, ) ) V. ) Civil Action No. 22-21179-Civ-Scola Plug Vape & Smoke Shop Inc. and others, Defendants. ) Order on Plaintiff's Motion to Strike This matter is before the Court upon the Plaintiff's motion to strike the Defendants’ affirmative defenses. (ECF No. 16.) The Defendants filed a response (ECF No. 17), to which the Plaintiff replied. (ECF No. 19.) After careful review of the briefing, the record, and the relevant legal authorities, the Court denies the motion to strike. (ECF No. 16.) As an initial matter, the Court observes that the Plaintiff's motion is untimely and may be denied for that reason alone. In the interest of judicial economy, however, the Court will consider the underlying merits of the motion. Motions to strike affirmative defenses are “a drastic remedy and often disfavored.” F.T.C. v. On Point Global LLC, No. 19-25046-Civ,

, at *3 (S.D. Fla. Aug. 4, 2021) (Scola, J.). As the Plaintiff observes in its motion, each of the affirmative defenses is effectively a denial of the Plaintiff's claims. (Mot. at 3-4.) Therefore, the Court declines to strike the affirmative defenses and instead will treat each as a denial. Isola Condo. Assoc., Inc. v. Rockhill Ins. Co., No. 21-23114-CIV,

, at *2 (S.D. Fla. Nov. 15, 2021) (Goodman, Mag. J.) (“When this occurs, the proper remedy is not [to] strike the claim, but rather to treat [it] as a specific denial.”) (brackets in original). The Court therefore denies the motion to strike. (ECF No. 16.) Done and ordered in Miami, Florida, on ye 7 Robert N. Scola, Jr. United States District Judge