IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MONTANA MISSOULA DIVISION

DANIEL LEPIANE, individually and on behalf of similarly situated JOHN CV 20–163–M–DLC DOES 1-100,

Plaintiffs, ORDER

vs.

FNP, INC., d/b/a FIRST NATIONAL PAWN; FNP of MONTANA, INC., d/b/a FIRST NATIONAL PAWN; FNP of MISSOULA, INC., d/b/a FIRST NATIONAL PAWN; FNPS, LLC; FIRST NATIONAL PROPERTIES, LLC, and DOES 1-5,

Defendants.

Before the Court is United States Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto’s Findings & Recommendation. (Doc. 17.) Judge DeSoto recommends that the Court grant Defendants’ motion to dismiss (Doc. 2) as to Count I of Plaintiffs’ complaint, with leave to amend. (Doc. 17 at 14–15.) Importantly, following issuance of Judge DeSoto’s Findings & Recommendation (Doc. 17), Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint. (Doc. 19.) The amended complaint supersedes Plaintiffs’ original complaint and moots Defendants’ motion to dismiss to the extent it attacked the original complaint. Ramirez v. Cty. of San Bernardino,

(9th Cir. 2015). Authority exists for the proposition that this Court may nonetheless treat Defendants’ motion to dismiss as targeting the amended complaint. Pettaway v. Nat'l Recovery Sols., LLC,

, 303-04 (2d Cir. 2020); see also Williams

v. Southern Or. Credit Serv., Inc.,

, *1—2 (D. Or. 2016). Given the posture of this case, however, the Court declines to take this approach. Defendants are free to file another motion should they elect to do so. Accordingly, IT IS ORDERED that the Court declines to adopt Judge DeSoto’s Findings & Recommendation (Doc. 17) on the grounds that it is moot. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendants’ motion (Doc. 2) is DENIED

as moot. DATED this 17th day of February, 2021. hat Abts — Dana L. Christensen, District Judge United States District Court

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