HOWARD v. WALMART STORES EAST LP

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
ATHENS DIVISION
ASHAUNTE LEKORI HOWARD,
Plaintiff,
v.
WAL-MART STORES EAST, LP,
Defendant.
CIVIL ACTION NO.
3:25-cv-00183-TES
ORDER DENYING MOTION TO DISMISS AS MOOT
Before Plaintiff Ashaunte Lekori Howard filed her Amended Complaint [Doc.
12], Defendant Wal-Mart Stores East, LP filed its Amended Motion to Dismiss [Doc. 11]
the original Complaint [Doc. 1].
Under black letter federal law, “an amended complaint supersedes the initial
complaint and becomes the operative pleading in the case.” Lowery v. Ala. Power Co., 483
F.3d 1184, 1219 (11th Cir. 2007) (citations omitted). This means that “the original
pleading is abandoned by the amendment, and [it] is no longer a part of the pleader’s
averments against h[er] adversary.” Dresdner Bank AG v. M/V Olympia Voyager, 463 F.3d
1210, 1215 (11th Cir. 2006) (citation omitted); see also Hoefling v. City of Miami, 811 F.3d
1271, 1277 (11th Cir. 2016) (initial pleading “bec[o]me[s] a legal nullity”). Further, an
original complaint would still have legal effect if “the amendment specifically refers to
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or adopts the earlier pleading.” Varnes v. Local 91, Glass Bottle Blowers Ass’n, 674 F.2d
1365, 1370 n.6 (11th Cir. 1982) (citation omitted). An amended complaint that does not
incorporate the prior pleading, however, moots “the motion to dismiss the original
complaint because the motion seeks to dismiss a pleading that has been superseded.”
Wimberly v. Broome, No. 6:15-cv-23, 2016 WL 3264346, at *1 (S.D. Ga. Mar. 29, 2016)
(citing cases).
The Court has reviewed Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint and found no reference
to, or adoption of, any allegations set forth in its original Complaint. Therefore,
Plaintiff’s Amended Complaint is the sole operative pleading in this case and renders
moot Defendant’s pending Motion to Dismiss. Accordingly, the Court DENIES
Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss [Doc. 11] as moot.
SO ORDERED, this 11th day of December, 2025.
S/ Tilman E. Self, III
TILMAN E. SELF, III
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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