Peter Brake v. Liberty University, Inc.; Dondi Costin; Ashley Reich; Steve Foster; and Steve Ferro

Summary

The United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia grants Peter Brake’s motion to amend or correct his late responses to requests for admission. The court denies the defendants’ motion for partial summary judgment as moot because allowing the amendment permits the retaliation-related claims to proceed on their merits. The court awards defendants reasonable attorney’s fees and expenses incurred in bringing and litigating the motion and refers determination of the amount to a magistrate judge.

Holdings

1. The court may permit amendment or correction of an untimely response to a request for admission when doing so promotes resolution of the case on the merits and any prejudice to the requesting party can be remedied through a less drastic measure. The court granted Brake's motion to amend or correct.
2. Defendants were not entitled to partial summary judgment on the basis asserted because the court's granting of Brake's motion to amend or correct removed the basis for the motion. The motion for partial summary judgment was denied as moot.
3. The court imposed a sanction of reasonable expenses, including attorney's fees incurred in filing, briefing, and arguing the partial-summary-judgment motion, despite denying that motion as moot.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the court should permit Brake to amend or correct his untimely response to Request for Admission 11 under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 36(b).
2. Whether defendants were entitled to partial summary judgment based on the untimely response being deemed admitted under Rule 36(a)(3).
3. What sanction, if any, was appropriate for the delay in responding to discovery.

Disposition

other