Zipporah Ford v. Landon Norris

Summary

The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia grants Copart, Inc.'s motion for judgment on the pleadings and dismisses Copart as a party in a personal injury action arising from a motor vehicle collision. The court grants Plaintiff Zipporah Ford leave to amend the complaint to substitute Valfair Construction, Inc. as the proper employer defendant and extends the discovery period and other scheduling deadlines by 120 days; the motion to strike expert testimony is denied as moot.

Holdings

1. Copart, Inc. was entitled to judgment on the pleadings and was dismissed as a party because it was a distinct legal entity from the employer, Valfair Construction, Inc., and was not Norris's employer.
2. Ford was granted leave to amend her complaint to name Valfair Construction, Inc. as the defendant employer rather than Copart, Inc. d/b/a Valfair Construction, Inc.
3. The scheduling order was amended, extending the discovery period and all other deadlines by 120 days from the date of the order.
4. The motion to strike, construed as a motion to exclude expert testimony under Rule 37(c)(1) and Local Rule 26(C), was denied as moot because the discovery and expert-disclosure period was extended.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Copart, Inc. was entitled to judgment on the pleadings because it was not Norris's employer and was improperly named as a defendant.
2. Whether Ford should be granted leave under Rule 15(a)(2) to substitute Valfair Construction, Inc. for Copart, Inc. and file a second amended complaint.
3. Whether the scheduling order should be amended to extend discovery and related deadlines by 120 days.
4. Whether the defendants' motion to strike or exclude expert testimony should be denied as moot after the discovery period was extended.

Disposition

other