Opinion
8:21-mc-70-TPB-JSS
09-07-2022
MATTHEW E. ORSO, Plaintiff, v. DON MORROW, Defendant.
ORDER GRANTING “MOTION FOR SUBSTITUTION OF PLAINTIFF”
TOM BARBER, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.
This matter is before the Court on movant Nationwide Judgment Recovery Inc.'s “Motion for Substitution of Plaintiff.” (Doc. 18). Nationwide seeks to substitute itself for “Matthew Orso, as Successor Trustee to Kenneth D. Bell, in his capacity as Court-Appointed Receiver for Rex Venture Group, LLC [...] as the party Plaintiff in this matter.”
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 25, “[i]f an interest is transferred, the action may be continued by or against the original party unless the court, on motion, orders the transferee to be substituted in the action or joined with the original party.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 25(c). Substitution is a procedural matter and does not impact the substantive rights of the parties. Matter of Covington Grain Co., Inc., 638 F.2d 1357, 1361 (5th Cir. 1981); Barker v. Jackson Nat'l Life Ins. Co., 163 F.R.D. 364, 365 (N.D. Fla. 1995). Courts in this district have concluded that “this miscellaneous matter and the issuance of the writs of garnishment are a continuation of the original litigation that produced the judgment. Thus, under Rule 25(c), the litigation may be continued by [Nationwide Judgment Recovery, Inc.] (the party in interest) and against [Defendant] (the original party).” Orso v. Nagibina, No. 8:21-mc-131-KKM-JSS, Doc. 18 (M.D. Fla. June 14, 2022); Orso v. Vasquez, No. 8:21-mc-112-CEH-AEP, Doc. 21 (M.D. Fla. June 8, 2022).
The Court finds that substitution is warranted here based on Nationwide's evidence that it is the party in interest as the assignee of the subject judgment. (Docs. 18-1; 18-2; 18-3). As such, the Court finds good cause to substitute Nationwide into this action in place of the Receiver as the party plaintiff.
Accordingly, it is
ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED:
(1) Nationwide's motion for substitution of plaintiff (Doc. 18) is GRANTED.
(2) The Clerk is directed to amend the case caption to substitute Nationwide Judgment Recovery, Inc. as the named Plaintiff in this matter.
DONE and ORDERED.