Opinion ID: 8704902
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Additional Plaintiffs and Motion to File Second Amended Complaint

Text: When Mr. Cottrell filed an Amended Complaint, he added Lloyd Morrison, Jr. as an additional pro se plaintiff, see Am. Compl. [Dkt. 13]. Mr. Morrison asserts that USDA discriminated against him based on age when it denied him credit in 1988 and again in 1992. See Opp., Att. 2 (Morrison Aff.). 11 Thus, Mr. Morrison attempts to state an ECOA claim. As with Mr. Cottrell’s ECOA claim, Mr. Morrison’s ECOA claim must be dismissed as untimely. See 15 U.S.C. § 1691e(f) (two-year statute of limitations applies to ECOA claims).
Mr. Cottrell also filed a motion for leave to file a Second Amended Complaint. The proposed Second Amended Complaint would add a new plaintiff, Mr. Cottrell’s brother, Michael A. Cottrell. See Second Am. Compl. [Dkt. 19-1] ¶¶ 6-31, 6-35, 8-1-8-18. Michael Cottrell asserts that the USDA discriminated against him in 1988 and 1994 when it denied his applications to rent inventory farm property and that USDA failed to maintain the “Master File” of his 1989 CRP contract. As with Mr. Morrison’s claims, Michael Cottrell’s claims are improperly joined and he may not be added to this case. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 20. Moreover, to add Michael Cottrell’s claims would be futile. See Howell v. Gray, 843 F.Supp.2d 49, 54 (D.D.C.2012) (a motion to amend may be denied if to do so would be futile); Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(a)(2). If the amendment were allowed, Michael Cottrell’s claims would have to be dismissed for the same reasons that Mr. Cottrell’s claims will be dismissed.
While the proposed Second Amended Complaint does not incorporate any new legal claims, it does include additional factual allegations. Even so, the new allegations do not save the case from summary judgment. For example, the additional allegations state that: (1) the 1989 CRP application was not added to the Master File, see Second Am. Compl. ¶¶ 6-57, 6-64, 6-165; (2) government agencies “intentionally concealed” Mr. Cottrell’s rights, see id. ¶¶ 6-76-6-77, 6-112, 6-124; and (3) USDA “fraudulently” paid benefits to older farmers, see id. ¶¶ 6-97. These additional alleged facts do not alter the analysis set forth in this Opinion. See Howell, 843 F.Supp.2d at 54; Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(a)(2). Accordingly, the motion for leave to file a Second Amended Compliant will be denied as futile.