Fathiree Ali, et al. v. Washington, et al.

Summary

The court denied without prejudice the plaintiffs’ motion to amend their complaint, concluding that amendment as of right was untimely and that the proposed amendment would be futile because it did not cure the plaintiffs’ alleged failure to exhaust administrative remedies under the Prison Litigation Reform Act. The court struck the proposed first amended complaint from the record and denied defendants’ motion to extend response deadlines as moot. The order was issued by United States Magistrate Judge Curtis Ivy, Jr., with objections permitted under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 72(a).

Holdings

1. Plaintiffs could no longer amend their complaint as a matter of course because the twenty-one-day periods following service of the original complaint and defendants' Rule 12 motion had expired.
2. Leave to amend was denied because the proposed first amended complaint was futile.
3. Neither exigent circumstances nor imminent danger excused plaintiffs' failure to exhaust administrative remedies under the PLRA.
4. Defendants' motion to extend their response deadlines was denied as moot.

Questions Presented

1. Whether plaintiffs could amend their complaint as a matter of course under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)(1).
2. Whether plaintiffs should be granted leave to amend under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)(2).
3. Whether the proposed amended complaint was futile because it did not cure plaintiffs' failure to exhaust administrative remedies under the Prison Litigation Reform Act.
4. Whether defendants' motion to extend their response deadlines should be granted.

Disposition

other