United States v. Lafferty

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT SEATTLE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 8 Plaintiff, CASE NO. 2:21-cv-01522-RAJ-BAT 9 v. ORDER GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO FILE ERIN M. LAFFERTY, KING COUNTY, SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT WELLS FARGO BANK, JP MORGAN CHASE BANK, SEATTLE SAVINGS BANK, Defendants.

Pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2), Plaintiff United States of America (“United States”), moves for leave to file a Second Amended Complaint to include a foreclosure claim against the Subject Property. Dkt. 21. No opposition to the motion has been filed.

Rule 15(a) permits a party to seek leave of the court to amend its pleading. Rule 15(a)(2) specifies that “the court should freely give leave when justice so requires.” Rule 15 and the “freely give” standard express a “policy of favoring amendments,” which should be applied liberally. Ascon Properties, Inc. v. Mobil Oil Company, 866 F.2d 1149, 1160 (9th Cir. 1989), citing DCD Programs, Ltd. v. Leighton, 833 F.2d 183,186 (9th Cir. 1987). Leave to amend should be granted except when “the amendment would cause the opposing party undue prejudice, is sought in bad faith, constitutes an exercise in futility, or creates undue delay.” Ascon Properties, 866 F.2d at 1160, citing Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182 (1962). Absent such a reason, denying leave to amend may be an abuse of discretion. Ascon Properties, 866 F.2d at 1160.

3 The Court finds that the proposed amendment is timely as it has been filed at the onset of the case and that there is no evidence of bad faith or delay seeking motive. Additionally, any discovery on the newly added foreclosure count will overlap with discovery on the existing declaratory relief claim. The proposed amendment is judicially efficient as it will allow the Court to resolve all competing claims to the Subject Property, effectuate a sale of the Subject Property, and apply the appropriate amount of proceeds towards the unpaid tax liabilities that are the subject of this suit.

10 Accordingly, it is ORDERED that United States’ Motion for Leave to File a Second Amended Complaint (Dkt. 21) is GRANTED; the United States shall file the Second Amended Complaint attached as Exhibit 1 to its Motion within fourteen days of this Order.

13 Dated this 1st day of February, 2022.

14 A BRIAN A. TSUCHIDA United States Magistrate Judge