Opinion ID: 761035
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: request to amend complaint

Text: 15 We consider first whether the district court should have allowed plaintiff to amend his complaint to set forth a cause of action for violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. Plaintiff disputes the district court's finding in the order granting summary judgment that he was not seized and the resulting conclusion the Fourth Amendment was not implicated. According to plaintiff, the facts show that he was seized within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment when Officer Blair pinned him against the two cars and restrained him from walking away. 16 Several reasons justify the district court's denial of plaintiff's request to amend. First, even though plaintiff did not argue a Fourth Amendment violation in his complaint, the district court considered the possibility of a Fourth Amendment violation in granting summary judgment for defendants. Plaintiff does not indicate what Fourth Amendment argument he would make in an amended complaint, different from that addressed by the district court. 17 Second, in his objections to defendants' motion for summary judgment, plaintiff argued that his claims should be analyzed under the Fourth Amendment, but did not move to amend the complaint. See Appellant's App. Vol. II at 183-84. Plaintiff's later request to amend his complaint was untimely. See Las Vegas Ice & Cold Storage Co. v. Far West Bank, 893 F.2d 1182, 1185 (10th Cir.1990) (Untimeliness alone may be a sufficient basis for denial of leave to amend.); Diersen v. Chicago Car Exch., 110 F.3d 481, 489 (7th Cir.) (delay in presenting post-judgment amendment when moving party had opportunity to present amendment earlier is valid reason for refusal to permit amendment), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 118 S.Ct. 178, 139 L.Ed.2d 119 (1997); cf. Franks v. Nimmo, 796 F.2d 1230, 1238 n. 4 (10th Cir.1986) (holding motion to amend complaint made two years after case was filed, after discovery was completed, and after partial summary judgment was granted was untimely). 18 Third, to the extent plaintiff's request to amend the complaint was based on his assertion that he did not have adequate time to conduct discovery, he previously had failed to file the required affidavit under Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(f) explaining why he could not respond to the summary judgment motion without discovery. See Committee for First Amend. v. Campbell, 962 F.2d 1517, 1522-23 (10th Cir.1992). Because plaintiff failed to take advantage of the shelter provided by Rule 56(f) by filing an affidavit, there [was] no abuse of discretion in granting summary judgment since, as is discussed below, summary judgment was otherwise appropriate. Pasternak v. Lear Petroleum Exploration, Inc., 790 F.2d 828, 832-33 (10th Cir.1986). 19 Finally, in opposing the motion to reconsider and request for amendment, defendants argued, and plaintiff did not deny, that most discovery was completed before the district court ruled on the summary judgment motion, yet plaintiff did not move to file a supplemental response to the motion. See Appellant's App. Vol. IV at 521. Accordingly, we conclude the district court did not abuse its discretion in refusing permission to amend. See Viernow v. Euripides Dev. Corp., 157 F.3d 785, 800 (10th Cir.1998); see also Cannon v. City & County of Denver, 998 F.2d 867, 879 (10th Cir.1993) (denial of motion to amend after final judgment entered not abuse of discretion).