Matthew Todd Griffith v. AZ’s Finest Towing LLC, et al.

Summary

This Report and Recommendation addresses Plaintiff Matthew Todd Griffith’s amended motion for default judgment against AZ’s Finest Towing, LLC and Alex Phillips. The court recommends denying the motion, setting aside the defaults entered on the superseded complaint, and requiring prompt service of the First Amended Complaint on those defendants. The recommendation is based on the amended complaint’s superseding effect and Plaintiff’s failure to serve the amended pleading.

Holdings

1. A first amended complaint supersedes the original complaint, and defaults entered on the original complaint cannot support default judgment where the defendants were not served with the operative amended complaint and the amendment materially affects the allegations and theories asserted against them.
2. The amended motion for default judgment should be denied because the defendants were not served with the operative first amended complaint and the defaults were entered on the superseded complaint.

Questions Presented

1. Whether default judgment may be entered against Phillips and AZ’s Finest when they were served with the original complaint but not with the first amended complaint.
2. Whether the entries of default entered against Phillips and AZ’s Finest on the superseded original complaint should be set aside.
3. Whether Phillips and AZ’s Finest should be directed to be served with the operative first amended complaint.

Disposition

other