Waste Action Project v. Girard Resources & Recycling LLC

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON AT TACOMA 10 WASTE ACTION PROJECT, CASE NO. 2:21-cv-00443-RAJ-JRC 11 Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING LEAVE TO 12 v. AMEND AND STRIKING SCHEDULING ORDER 13 GIRARD RESOURCES & RECYCLING LLC, Defendant.

16 This matter is before the Court on plaintiff’s motion to file an amended complaint, naming an additional defendant, the City of Snoqualmie. Dkt. 26. The motion is unopposed, which the Court deems an admission that the motion has merit. See LCR 7(b)(2).

19 The Court finds good cause to amend the scheduling order’s deadlines for joinder and for amending pleadings in light of defendant’s lack of opposition and plaintiff’s explanation that it was only after these deadlines that it learned of the City’s role in the allegations related to this matter. See In re W. States Wholesale Nat. Gas Antitrust Litig., 715 F.3d 716, 737 (9th Cir. 2013). In addition, plaintiff asserts that it had to wait 60 days after serving a notice of intent to sue on April 19, 2022, under a statutory notice provision, before it may file a complaint naming an additional defendant. Dkt. 26, at 4. The Court also finds that amendment under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15 is appropriate because defendant does not assert that the Court should deny the motion and because neither undue delay, bad faith, prejudice, nor futility are apparent. See Forsyth v. Humana, Inc., 114 F.3d 1467, 1482 (9th Cir. 1997).

6 Plaintiff shall file the proposed amended complaint (Dkt. 26-1) as the operative complaint in this matter on or before June 24, 2022, in light of plaintiff’s explanation that it must await the close of a sixty-day notice period beginning April 19, 2022. See Dkt. 26, at 4.

9 The Court also finds good cause to strike the scheduling order in this matter, including due to the pendency of the motion to dismiss (Dkt. 12) and the Court’s allowance of an amended complaint adding an additional party. All deadlines previously set forth in the Court’s scheduling order are stricken (Dkt. 24), and within 30 days of the City of Snoqualmie’s appearance, the parties shall confer and file a joint status report to assist the Court in scheduling this matter.

15 Dated this 6th day of June, 2022.

A J.Richard Creatura Chief United States Magistrate Judge