Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-caed-1_09-cv-00901/USCOURTS-caed-1_09-cv-00901-11/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 891
Nature of Suit: Agricultural Acts
Cause of Action: 07:499 Agricultural Commodities Act

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

KINSBURG APPLE PACKERS, INC., CASE NO. 1:09-cv-00901 AWI- JLT

dba KINGSBURG ORCHARDS, et al.,

 

Plaintiff, ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR LEAVE TO

FILE FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT

v.

 

BALLANTINE PRODUCE CO., INC.,

et al.,

Defendants.

 /

Pending before the Court is Intervenor Plaintiff Wagon Wheel Farms, Inc.’s (“Plaintiff’s”)

Motion for Leave to File a First Amended Complaint. (Doc. 112.) Plaintiff has lodged a proposed

First Amended Complaint with his motion. (Doc. 113.)

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff, a company engaged in the business of growing perishable fruit and citrus, filed a

Complaint in Intervention on July 29, 2009, against Defendant Balantine Produce Co., Inc

(“Defendant”) under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (“PACA”) raising four claims for

relief arising out of Defendant’s alleged improper failure to reimburse Plaintiff for fruit delivered to

Defendant, a commission merchant and sales dealer, for packing and marketing. (Doc. 56.) 

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Case 1:09-cv-00901-AWI-JLT Document 143 Filed 02/03/10 Page 1 of 3
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 It appears that all of the proposed defendants in the First Amended Complaint, save Redwood Farms, Inc., are

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already parties in this action.

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FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT 

Plaintiff seeks leave to file a first amended complaint, asserting that the interests of

expediency and judicial economy will best be served by dismissing parallel proceedings in state

court against Defendant and other related defendants and filing an amended complaint in this Court

against Defendant and adding additional related defendants, including Defendant Ballantine’s

principals, Virgil Rasmussen, David Albertson, Eric Albertson and Richard Graham, as well as

related corporate entities Babijuice Corporation and Redwood Farms, Inc., and Bank of the West.1

The amended petition also adds additional claims based on the liability of the new defendants. No

party has opposed the motion.

A plaintiff may amend his complaint once as a matter of course before a response pleading is

served. Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(a). Here, a responsive pleading was filed on August 12, 2009. (Doc. 90.)

Thus, leave to file an amended complaint, in the absence of the written consent of the opposing

parties, requires the permission of the Court. Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(a)(2). The grant or denial of leave to

amend a complaint is in the discretion of the court. In deciding whether to grant leave to amend a

complaint, the court may consider the following factors: bad faith, undue delay, futility of the

amendment, and prejudice to the opposing party. Owens v. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., 244

F.3d 708, 712 (9 Cir. 2001). The Ninth Circuit has instructed that “Rule 15's policy of favoring th

amendments to pleadings should be applied with ‘extreme liberality.’” United States v. Webb, 655

F.2d 977, 979 (9 Cir. 1981); see also Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(a)(2). 

th

The Court has reviewed the amended complaint and believes permitting amendment will

serve the interests of justice and judicial economy. For that reason, the fact no party has opposed

amendment, and in light of Rule 15's policy of “freely” allowing amendment when in the interests of

justice, leave to amend is appropriate.

Accordingly, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:

1. Intervenor Plaintiff Wagon Wheel Farms, Inc.’s Motion for Leave to

File a First Amended Complaint (Doc. 112) is GRANTED;

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2. Intervenor Plaintiff Wagon Wheel Farms, Inc. Is ordered to file its

First Amended Complaint no later than February 5, 2010.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: February 2, 2010 /s/ Jennifer L. Thurston 

9j7khi UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE 

Case 1:09-cv-00901-AWI-JLT Document 143 Filed 02/03/10 Page 3 of 3