Opinion
CASE NO. CV419-169
02-19-2020
JOHN HARTWELL COCKE, as Executor of the Estate of William Byron Cocke, Deceased, and as Executor of the Estate of Catherine Crichton Cocke, Deceased; WILLIAM MARSTON BECKER, as Conservator of W.R.C., a minor, as Conservator of E.C.C., a minor, as Conservator of J.S.C., a minor, as Conservator of C.E.C., a minor, as Conservator of P.S.G.C., a minor; and JOHN HARTWELL COCKE and VIRGINIA FRANCES COCKE, as Guardians of W.R.C., a minor, as Guardians of E.C.C., a minor, as Guardians of J.S.C., a minor, as Guardians of C.E.C., a minor, and Guardians of P.S.G.C., a minor; Plaintiffs, v. CONTINENTAL MOTORS, INC., d/b/a Continental Aerospace Technologies; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; AVIATION DEVELOPMENT GROUP, LLC; THOMAS HUFF; and KRISTEN HUNTER, as Personal Representative of the Estate of Randall Hunter, deceased; Defendants.
ORDER
Before the Court is Defendant Continental Motors, Inc.'s ("Continental") Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 15) and Plaintiffs' Motion for Leave to Conduct Jurisdictional Discovery and to Stay Defendant Continental's Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 24).
Defendant Continental seeks to dismiss this action and stay the case pending the outcome of the motion to dismiss. (Doc. 15.) In response, Plaintiffs seek leave to conduct jurisdictional discovery and to stay Defendant Continental's Motion to Dismiss during while conducting discovery. (Doc. 24.) However, before the Court could rule on these motions, Plaintiffs filed their Amended Complaint on September 13, 2019. (Doc. 25.) Because Plaintiffs have filed an amended complaint, all motions directed to the original complaint have become moot. Pintando v. Miami-Dade Hous. Agency, 501 F.3d 1241, 1243 (11th Cir. 2007) ("As a general matter, [a]n amended pleading supersedes the former pleading; the original pleading is abandoned by the amendment, and is no longer a part of the pleader's averments against his adversary." (internal citations and quotation marks omitted)); Malowney v. Fed. Collection Deposit Grp., 193 F.3d 1342, 1345 n.1 (11th Cir. 1999) ("An amended complaint supersedes an original complaint."). Courts routinely find that an amended complaint renders motions directed against the original complaint moot. See Robinson v. Wings of Alpharetta, Inc., No. 1: 11-CV-01579, 2011 WL 13308540, at *3 (N.D. Ga. Dec. 19, 2011) (denying the defendants' motions to dismiss as moot because the court was granting the plaintiff's motion to file an amended complaint); Reeves Constr. Co. v. Baker Constructors, Inc., No. 4:18-CV-73, 2019 WL 1292306, at *2 (S.D. Ga. Mar. 20, 2019) (denying as moot the defendant's motion to dismiss due to the filing of the plaintiff's first amended complaint); Wimberly v. Broome, No. 6:15-CV-23, 2016 WL 3264346, at *1 (S.D. Ga. Mar. 29, 2016), report and recommendation adopted, No. 6:15-CV-23, 2016 WL 3360521 (S.D. Ga. June 14, 2016) (collecting cases).
As a result, Defendant Continental's Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 15) and Plaintiffs' Motion for Leave to Conduct Jurisdictional Discovery and to Stay Defendant Continental's Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 24) are DISMISSED AS MOOT. The Court recognizes that Defendant Continental has filed its Renewed and Supplemental Motion to Dismiss and Incorporated Memorandum of Law addressing the Amended Complaint. (Doc. 40.) This motion (Doc. 40) remains pending.
SO ORDERED this 19th day of February 2020.
/s/_________
WILLIAM T. MOORE, JR.
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA