Opinion ID: 70446
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Dismissal of Sanders-Burns's Amended Complaint

Text: The district court granted Cabezuela's motion to dismiss the individual capacity claims against him because the district court held that the individual capacity claims were not filed within the statute of limitations period and that the amended complaint did not relate back to the original complaint for statute of limitations purposes. We review a Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal de novo, accepting all well-pleaded facts as true and reviewing them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Piotrowski v. City of Houston, 51 F.3d 512, 514 (5th Cir.1995).
An amended complaint may relate back to an original complaint for statute of limitations purposes. Whether an amended complaint relates back to an original complaint is governed by Rule 15(c), which states in relevant part: (1) When an Amendment Relates Back. An amendment to a pleading relates back to the date of the original pleading when: . . . . (B) the amendment asserts a claim or defense that arose out of the conduct, transaction, or occurrence set out  or attempted to be set out  in the original pleading; or (C) the amendment changes the party or the naming of the party against whom a claim is asserted, if Rule 15(c)(1)(B) is satisfied and if, within the period provided by Rule 4(m) for serving the summons and complaint, the party is brought in by amendment: (i) received such notice of the action that it will not be prejudiced in defending on the merits; and (ii) knew or should have known that the action would have been brought against it, but for a mistake concerning the proper party's identity. [1] FED.R.CIV.P. 15(c). Thus, for Sanders-Burns to establish that the amended complaint relates back to the original complaint, she must demonstrate that the amended pleading satisfies the elements provided in Rule 15(c)(1)(B)-(C): (1) it must arise from the same transaction or occurrence as the original pleading. . . and (2) . . . the party named in the amended pleading must have both received sufficient notice of the pendency of the action so as not to be prejudiced in preparing a defense, and have known or should have known that but for a mistake of identity the party would have been named in the original pleading. See STEVEN BAICKER-MCKEE, WILLIAM M. JANSSEN, & JOHN B. CORR, FEDERAL CIVIL RULES HANDBOOK 531-32 (2009). Sanders-Burns's original complaint claimed relief based on Cabezuela's individual conduct, [2] sought punitive damageswhich are available only in individual capacity suits, [3] sought that judgment be entered against the defendants in their individual capacities, [4] and made allegations against the City of Plano that would render any official capacity claim against Cabezuela redundant. However, paragraph eight of the original complaint stated that Cabezuela was sued in his official capacity. [5] The question then is whether Sanders-Burns's amended complaint, which only replaced the statement that Cabezuela was sued in his official capacity with the statement that Cabezuela was sued in his individual capacity, relates back to Sanders-Burns's original complaint for statute of limitations purposes under Rule 15(c). [6] We hold that it does. We previously addressed whether an amended complaint relates back to an original complaint in cases with similar, though distinguishable, facts as those present in the instant case. See Kerney v. Fort Griffin Fandangle Ass'n, 624 F.2d 717 (5th Cir.1980); Kirk v. Cronvich, 629 F.2d 404 (5th Cir.1980). [7] In Kerney, the plaintiff was unable to learn the names of all of the defendants he wanted to bring suit against, so he sued by name those defendants whose names he knew and added as fictitious defendants John Doe, Richard Roe. . . . Kerney, 624 F.2d at 718. After the statute of limitations had run, the plaintiff filed an amended complaint. The plaintiff's amended complaint differed from the original complaint in only two respects: it dropped the fictitious defendants, and it added class allegations, making the nine named defendants representatives of a class as well as individual defendants. The amended complaint named no parties whom the original complaint had not named. Id. at 721. We concluded that while the amendment did not fall strictly within the rubric of Rule 15(c), the policy rationale of the rule dictated that the amended complaint relate back to the original complaint. Id. We reached this conclusion, in part, because the amendment merely changed the status of the individual defendants to class representatives without changing the ultimate liability sought to be imposed. Id. In Kirk, the plaintiff initially named the Sheriff's Office as the defendant. 629 F.2d at 405. After the one-year statute of limitations expired, the district court dismissed the Sheriff's Office. Id. The plaintiff then amended the complaint to name the Sheriff individually. Id. The Sheriff moved to dismiss the amended complaint as barred by the statute of limitations, and the district court granted the motion. Id. In conducting the Rule 15(c) analysis, we first noted that the amended pleading arose out of the conduct, transaction, or occurrence set forth in the original pleading because the amended pleading simply substituted the name of the Sheriff for the Sheriff's Office in the original complaint. Id. We next determined that the Sheriff had sufficient notice, even though there was no evidence that he had actual knowledge of the action until he was personally served, because when the original complaint is perfected upon an agent of a party sought to be brought in by amendment, there is adequate notice of the action to that party. Id. Notice to the Sheriff was also sufficient by virtue of the identity of interest [8] between the Sheriff and the Sheriff's Office. Id. at 408. The Sheriff could not claim prejudice due to loss of evidence or undue surprise because upon learning of the action against the Sheriff's Office, the Sheriff and his attorneys would already have begun investigating the claim and preserving evidence. Id. Lastly, the Sheriff knew or should have known that, but for a mistake concerning the identity of the proper party, the action would have been brought against him. Id. at 407-08. Similarly, our sister circuits have considered, in somewhat analogous circumstances, whether an amended complaint related back to the original complaint for statute of limitations purposes. See Hill v. Shelander, 924 F.2d 1370 (7th Cir.1991); cf. Atchinson v. District of Columbia, 73 F.3d 418, 424 (D.C.Cir.1996); Lovelace v. O'Hara, 985 F.2d 847 (6th Cir.1993); see also Colvin v. McDougall, 62 F.3d 1316 (11th Cir.1995). In Hill v. Shelander , the Seventh Circuit considered whether the district court had appropriately granted summary judgment to the defendant police officer on statute of limitations grounds. Hill's first complaint, filed pro se, failed to name Shelander in his individual capacity (or any capacity), and the first and second amended complaints, filed by Hill's first court-appointed counsel, named Shelander only in his official capacity. 924 F.2d at 1375. Hill's second lawyer recognized the technical error in [Hill]'s second amended complaint and tried to amend it to reflect the proper capacity in which Shelander was to be sued. Id. The district court granted Hill's motion for leave to amend his complaint to assert an individual capacity suit at trial, but then granted summary judgment to the police officer, holding that the individual capacity claim was time-barred. The Seventh Circuit's analysis put great emphasis on the allegations found in the actual complaint and explained that the court should take a sensible approach to reading a complaint so that suits may be maintained regardless of technical pleading errors. Id. at 1373-74. The Seventh Circuit reversed the grant of summary judgment on statute of limitation grounds, concluding that Hill's complaint when `read in its entirety' plainly show[ed] that an individual capacity suit was intended. Id. at 1374. The Seventh Circuit explained that Rule 15(c) [9] serves as a useful guide to help, not hinder, persons who have a legal right to bring their problems before the courts. Id. at 1375 (quotation omitted). The Seventh Circuit then applied the analysis used by this Court in Kirk and Kerney and concluded that (1) Hill's claims arose out of the original occurrence and merely changed the capacity, not the identity, of the defendant; (2) Shelander knew from the start the nature of the allegations against him and would not be prejudiced defending the merits; and (3) it should have been clear to Shelander that the suit was brought against him in his individual capacity for the injuries he inflicted on Hill because Hill sought punitive damages. Id. at 1377-78. In Lovelace v. O'Hara , the Sixth Circuit addressed whether the district court erred in allowing Lovelace to amend her complaint, after the statute of limitations had run, to name O'Hara in his individual capacity. Lovelace, 985 F.2d at 848-49. The court concluded that there was no question as to whether the original and amended complaints involved the same conduct, but found that O'Hara did not receive notice that he was being sued in his individual capacity until several months after the 120 days allowed for service of the summons and complaint. Id. at 850. The Sixth Circuit explained that [i]t is not too much to ask that if a person or entity is to be subject to suit, the person or entity should be properly named and clearly notified of the potential for payment of damages individually. Id. The court found the distinction between an official capacity suit and individual capacity suit to be significant. Because O'Hara may have developed a different legal strategy if he had been aware that he was being sued personally, the court concluded that he was prejudiced by not having sufficient notice under Rule 15(c). Id. Furthermore, the court found that O'Hara did not know and should not have known that, but for a mistake in identity, the suit would have been brought against him. Id. The court, as in Hill, examined the original complaint and found that it contained a statement that O'Hara acted `not as an individual,' but `clearly within the expressed and implied powers of his official capacity.' Id. Thus, the court concluded that O'Hara had no reason to believe that he would be held personally liable. [10] In Colvin v. McDougall , after a trial and verdict, the district court upheld the punitive damages awarded by the jury against Sheriff McDougall because it determined that the damages had been assessed against McDougall in his personal capacity. 62 F.3d at 1317. The Eleventh Circuit reversed, holding that nothing in the suit suggested that it was an individual capacity suit, and instead, the suit was framed like an official capacity suit. Colvin had not indicated in his complaint whether he was suing McDougall in his official or individual capacity. Id. at 1317. The Eleventh Circuit explained that the court must examine the complaint and the course of proceedings to determine whether Colvin sued McDougall in his official or individual capacity. Id. (citing Kentucky v. Graham, 473 U.S. 159, 167-68 n. 14, 105 S.Ct. 3099, 87 L.Ed.2d 114 (1985)). The court then assessed the pleading and determined that it looked like an official capacity suit. Id. Most importantly, Colvin's attorney stated on the record that the suit against McDougall was in his official capacity. Id. at 1318. The court also noted that McDougall did not raise the defenses of good faith or qualified immunity in his answer and did not indicate an awareness that he was being sued in his individual capacity. Id. at 1317-18. Finally, in Atchinson v. District of Columbia , the D.C. Circuit considered whether the district court abused its discretion when it refused to allow Atchinson to amend his complaint to change a suit against an officer from an official capacity to an individual capacity suit a year and a half after the district court had dismissed § 1983 claims against the District of Columbia, because the complaint failed to meet the D.C. Circuit's pleading standards at the time. 73 F.3d at 424. The defendants then argued that the official capacity claims against Officer Collins should also be dismissed because they were redundant. Id. In response, Atchinson sought to amend his complaint to assert individual capacity claims against Collins. Id. at 420. The court began by looking at the text of the original complaint, which stated that defendants who are individuals are sued solely in their official capacity. Id. In a hearing, Atchinson's attorney reaffirmed that defendant Collins was being sued solely in his official capacity, and only altered course after he realized the case might be dismissed if the claims were only against the defendant-officer in his official capacity. Id. The court noted, however, that Atchinson sued for punitive damages and joint and several liability, indicating that the suit was against the defendant-officer in his individual capacity. Id. at 425. The court explained that if the complaint had been silent as to the capacity in which the defendant-officer was sued, the claims for punitive damages and joint and several liability would be relevant, but the complaint specifically stated that Atchinson was suing the defendant-officer in his official capacity. Id. Thus, the court rejected Atchinson's assertion that the parties understood the suit to be against the defendant-officer in his individual capacity. The court discussed Lovelace and Hill, noting that the defendant-officer argued that if he had known he would be personally liable for damages he would have retained private counsel and conducted discovery differently. Id. at 427. The court found the district court's concerns regarding the defendant-officer's choice of counsel and litigation strategy to be well-founded. Id. Ultimately, the D.C. Circuit held that, for the facts present in Atchinson, the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying leave to amend. Id.
After examining the cases decided by the Sixth, Seventh, Eleventh, and D.C. Circuits, we are convinced that the different outcomes result from the specific circumstances presented in each case, as one would expect where the core concern is adequacy of notice. Each opinion provides a detailed analysis of the allegations made in the original complaint, as well as any relevant comments made by the plaintiff's attorneys during the course of the proceedings. This comports with the purpose of Rule 15(c). See generally, 3 EDWARD SHERMAN & MARY P. SQUIERS, MOORE'S FEDERAL PRACTICE  CIVIL § 15.19 (2009). Therefore, we turn to the specific allegations made in Sanders-Burns's complaint, while keeping in mind the above-mentioned caselaw. In evaluating whether Sanders-Burns's amended complaint relates back to her original complaint, we note that the parties do not dispute that the amended complaint arises out of the same occurrence set forth in the original complaint. FED. R. CIV. P. 15(c)(1)(B). The parties only dispute whether (1) Cabezuela had appropriate notice of the action such that it did not prejudice him in preparing his defense and (2) Cabezuela knew, or should have known, that the action would have been brought against him in his individual capacity [11] but for the mistake in the original complaint. FED. R. CIV. P. 15(c)(1)(C). A comparison with the facts in Kirk is instructive in determining whether Sanders-Burns meets the requirements set out in Rule 15(c)(1)(C). In Kirk, we determined that the Sheriff had sufficient notice, even though there was no evidence that the Sheriff had actual knowledge of the action until he was personally served. Here, Cabezuela had actual knowledge of the action at all times because he was named as a defendant in the original complaint and was personally served within a week of the filing of the original complaint. [N]otice is sufficient if the newly named party was made aware of the issues in the complaint. See SHERMAN & SQUIERS, supra, at § 15.19[3][c]. Further, the facts here indicate that Cabezuela is not prejudiced in defending against the individual capacity claims. First, the answer to the complaint filed by the Defendants asserts the affirmative defense of qualified immunitya defense against an individual capacity lawsuit. The inclusion of the affirmative defense of qualified immunity is important because it suggests that the attorney representing Plano and Cabezuela, in his official capacity, is likely to have communicated to Cabezuela that he may have been sued in his individual capacity. See SHERMAN & SQUIERS, supra, at § 15.19[3][c] (In some cases notice may be imputed based on shared legal counsel, on the theory that when an originally named party and a new party are represented by the same attorney, the attorney is likely to have communicated to the new party that he or she may be joined in the action. (citations omitted)); cf. Colvin, 62 F.3d at 1317. Additionally, as discussed above, Sanders-Burns's original complaint reads like an individual capacity suit. This further suggests that Cabezuela had knowledge of the individual capacity claims against him such that he will not be prejudiced in defending against an individual capacity suit. Second, while we do not discount the Sixth Circuit's concerns regarding the need for plaintiffs to properly name the person or entity they are suing, Cabezuela is not now precluded from asserting the defense (asserted in his original answer) of qualified immunity on remand or from pursuing an individualized litigation strategy in defense of Sanders-Burns's claims against him in his individual capacity. We recognize that the risks to Cabezuela in an individual capacity suit, as opposed to an official capacity suit, are markedly different and may require a different defense strategy. He may have chosen to retain private counsel and to pursue a different litigation strategy. On remand, however, Cabezuela may still effectively pursue these avenues (and he makes no argument that he cannot) and, therefore Cabezuela is not prejudiced. Having determined that Cabezuela had sufficient notice of the action, we must now turn to whether Cabezuela knew, or should have known, that Sanders-Burns's made a mistake rather than a strategic decision when she named Cabezuela in his official capacity. In considering this question, we note that Rule 15(c)(1)(C) permits an amended complaint to relate back to the original complaint because: a legitimate legal claim should not be squelched by a party mistakenly identifying the party to be sued. . . . The classic example of mistake is misnomer; that is, when a plaintiff misnames or misidentifies a party in its pleadings but correctly serves that party. In these cases, relation back is appropriate because the defendant is already before the court. . . . In some cases a legal mistake can lead to misnomer, as when a plaintiff names an institutional defendant because of confusion as to whether an individual or an institutional defendant is the proper party, but the individual is properly served and, therefore, has notice of the mistake. In contrast, a conscious choice to sue one party and not another does not constitute a mistake and is not a basis for relation back. SHERMAN & SQUIERS, supra, at § 15.19[3][d] (citations omitted). A review of the complaint in this case indicates that the error of naming Cabezuela in his official capacity was an actual mistake, and that Sanders-Burns is not now merely attempting a strategic change by amending her complaint, unlike the plaintiffs in Colvin and Atchinson. In Kirk, this Court explained that the Sheriff knew or should have known that the action would have been brought against him. We noted that the Sheriff's Office's motion to dismiss stated that the Sheriff was the proper party. Similarly, Cabezuela should have known, or did know, that the suit should have been brought against him in his individual capacity. First, the original complaint alleges punitive damages, which are typically unavailable in official capacity suits. See, e.g., Hill, 924 F.2d at 1373. Second, paragraph sixteen of the original complaint makes a claim of deliberate indifference based on Cabezuela's individual actions, while paragraph eighteen makes a claim of deliberate indifference against Plano. The allegations regarding deliberate indifference are factually distinct as to each of the Defendants. Against Cabezuela, Sanders-Burns alleged deliberate indifference for Sanders's medical need, while against Plano Sanders-Burns alleged deliberate indifference for the need to train against the dangers of positional asphyxia. Third, the original complaint's prayer for relief asks judgment to be entered against Cabezuela in his individual capacity. Fourth, the answer to the complaint filed by the Defendants asserts the affirmative defense of qualified immunitya defense against an individual capacity lawsuit. The inclusion of the affirmative defense of qualified immunity further demonstrates that Cabezuela understood that Sanders-Burns intended to sue him in his individual capacity. [12] We take a sensible approach to reading a complaint so that suits may be maintained regardless of technical pleading errors as is required by Rule 15(c). Hill, 924 F.2d at 1373-74. Again, the purpose of Rule 15(c) is to `help, not hinder, persons who have a legal right to bring their problems before the courts.' Id. at 1375 (citation omitted). After conducting a side-by-side comparison of the original and amended complaints, we note that the only modification between the original and amended complaint is the substitution of the word individual for official. As such, we determine that, except for the mistake in paragraph eight, Sanders-Burns's original complaint alleges suit against Cabezuela in his individual capacity. Accordingly, we conclude that Sanders-Burns's amended complaint relates back to her original complaint for statute of limitations purposes under Rule 15(c). Sanders-Burns's amended complaint asserted a claim that arose out of the conduct, transaction, or occurrence set out in her original complaint, and Cabezuela both had sufficient notice of the lawsuit such that he is not prejudiced in defending on the merits and knew or should have known that he was sued in his individual capacity but for the mistake in the original complaint. Thus, we REVERSE the district court's dismissal of Sanders-Burns's individual capacity claims against Cabezuela and we REMAND for further proceedings.