Frank Whitaker, et al. v. Erie Insurance Company

Summary

The United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky denied Plaintiffs Frank and Kelly Whitaker’s motion to amend their complaint to add The Downs Agency LLC and Scott Essler as defendants. Applying Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 16(b)(4) and 15(a), the court held that Plaintiffs failed to show diligence or good cause for seeking amendment approximately five months after the scheduling-order deadline. The court concluded that Plaintiffs knew of the alleged reporting advice and Erie’s late-notice defense before the amendment deadline.

Holdings

1. A party seeking to amend a pleading after the scheduling-order deadline must first show good cause under Rule 16(b)(4), with diligence being the primary consideration; because the Whitakers knew or reasonably should have known the relevant facts before the deadline, they failed to establish good cause.
2. The court did not reach the merits of the Rule 15(a)(2) analysis because the Whitakers first had to, and failed to, establish good cause under Rule 16(b)(4).

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Whitakers demonstrated good cause under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b)(4) to amend the scheduling order after the deadline for joining parties and amending pleadings had expired.
2. Whether the proposed amendment should be permitted under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)(2).

Disposition

other