Summary
This federal district court order grants in part and denies in part a pro se plaintiff's motion for leave to amend his complaint to add named defendants. While the court permits the addition of one specific defendant, it denies leave to amend regarding nineteen Oakland County Commissioners because the proposed allegations fail to attribute specific misconduct to them, rendering the amendment futile under federal pleading standards. The court also orders the strike of a duplicate filing of the motion.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether leave to amend should be granted to add Sgt. Tanguay as a named defendant.
- Whether leave to amend should be denied as futile where the proposed complaint names government officials but does not allege specific misconduct by each official.
- Whether a duplicate copy of the motion should be stricken from the docket.
Holdings
- Leave to amend was granted in part, and Sgt. Tanguay was permitted to be added as a defendant.
- Leave to amend was denied as to the nineteen commissioners because the proposed complaint did not allege specific facts identifying what any particular commissioner did to violate Buhl's constitutional rights and therefore would not survive a motion to dismiss.
- The second, duplicate copy of Buhl's motion was stricken from the docket.
Key quotations
“In general, leave to amend “shall be freely given when justice so requires.””
“A motion to amend is futile “where a proposed amendment would not survive a motion to dismiss.””
Factual background
Buhl alleged that his constitutional rights were violated when he was involuntarily committed to a psychiatric treatment facility and given six or seven unknown substance injections. He sued unknown employees associated with the Oakland County Sheriff's Department and Fugitive Apprehension Task Force, State Common Ground, and the Oakland County Commissioners. In his proposed amended complaint, he named Sgt. Tanguay and all nineteen commissioners, but alleged only generally that unknown Oakland County commissioners violated his rights, without identifying specific misconduct by any particular commissioner.
Procedural history
Buhl filed a pro se lawsuit arising from his involuntary commitment and alleged injections. After the court repeatedly instructed him to identify the unknown defendants, he filed a motion for leave to amend and a proposed amended complaint naming Sgt. Tanguay and nineteen Oakland County commissioners. The court permitted Tanguay to be added, denied amendment as to the commissioners because the proposed claims lacked specific allegations of misconduct, and struck a duplicate copy of the motion.