UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA 

CIVIL DIVISION 

DEVIN FILIPPELLI, as Personal 

Representative of the ESTATE OF 

KRYSTAL TALAVERA, on behalf of the 

Estate and her Survivors, 

 Plaintiff, 

v. 

GROW, LLC (d/b/a KD INCORPORATED 

and THE KRATOM DISTRO); and SEAN 

MICHAEL HARDER, individually 

 Defendants. 

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Civil Action No. 9:22-cv-81731 

DEFENDANTS’ GROW, LLC (d/b/a KD 

INCORPORATED and THE KRATOM 

DISTRO) and SEAN MICHAEL 

HARDER’S NOTICE OF 

WITHDRAWAL OF ANSWER AND 

AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES AND 

CONSENT TO DEFAULT JUDGMENT

Defendants, GROW, LLC (hereinafter “Grow”) and SEAN MICHAEL HARDER 

(hereinafter “Harder”) (collectively referred to as “Defendants”) hereby provide notice of 

withdrawal of their respective responsive pleadings in this action and consent to a default 

judgment with damages to be determined by the trier of fact. 

In the alternative, Defendants move to withdraw their respective answers and for entry of 

a default judgment. To the extent a motion is required, Rule 15(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil 

Procedure permits a party to amend a pleading “once as a matter of course within 21 days after 

serving it” and “[i]n all other cases . . . only with the opposing party’s written consent or the 

court’s leave.” Under this rule, “[t]he court should freely give leave when justice so requires.” 

Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2). The Court may deny a motion for leave to amend under Fed. R. Civ. 

P.15(a)(2) “only when: (1) the amendment would be prejudicial to the opposing party, (2) there 

has been bad faith or undue delay on the part of the moving party, or (3) the amendment would 

Case 9:22-cv-81731-DMM Document 36 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/15/2023 Page 1 of 2
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be futile.” Taylor v. Fla. State Fiar Autho., 875 F. Supp. 812, 84 (M.D. Fla. 1995), citing Foman 

v. Davis, 317 U.S. 178, 182 (1962). “Plaintiffs and defendants have . . . been permitted to amend 

their pleadings to state additional claims, to assert additional defenses, or to drop claims or 

defenses.” C. Wright and A. Miller, 6 Federal practice and Procedure: Civil § 1474, at 619-622 

(2010) (emphasis added). 

Here, Defendants seek to withdraw their responsive pleadings and consent to a default 

judgment due to lack of financial resources to continue defending themselves in this Action. This 

Notice/Motion is not an admission of guilt nor an admission of any wrongdoing. Mr. Harder is 

expressly not waiving any rights he enjoys under the Fifth Amendment and this Notice shall not 

be construed as an admission of any of the allegations in the operative Compliant. 

Dated: March 15, 2023. /s/ Justin D. Niznik

Designated email addresses: 

justin.niznik@bowmanandbrooke.com 

kara.thomas@bowmanandbrooke.com 

orfa.diaz@bowmanandbrooke.com 

JUSTIN D. NIZNIK 

Florida Bar No. 774901 

BOWMAN AND BROOKE LLP 

1064 Greenwood Boulevard - Suite 212 

Lake Mary, Florida 32746-5419 

(407) 585-7600 

(407) 585-7610 – Fax 

Attorneys for Defendants 

GROW, LLC and 

SEAN MICHAEL HARDER

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

I HEREBY CERTIFY that on March 15, 2023, a true and correct copy of the foregoing 

was electronically filed with the Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system, system, which 

generates a notice of the filing to all attorneys of record. 

 /s/ Justin D. Niznik

JUSTIN D. NIZNIK 

Florida Bar No. 774901 

Case 9:22-cv-81731-DMM Document 36 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/15/2023 Page 2 of 2