AMOS WESTMORELAND, JR v SERGEANT MARQUAVIOUS LOCKHART, et al

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
MACON DIVISION
AMOS WESTMORELAND, JR., 	:
:
Plaintiff, 	: 	Case No.: 5:24-cv-00449-MTT-CHW
:
V. 	:
: 	Proceedings Under 42 U.S.C. § 1983
Sgt MARQUAVIOUS LOCKHART, 	: 	Before the U.S. Magistrate Judge
:
Defendant. 	:
:
ORDER
Before the Court is Plaintiff Amos Westmoreland, Jr.’s motion to strike Defendant
Lockhart’s answer. (Docs. 19, 20). Plaintiff seeks to strike portions of the answer that he
contends are boilerplate, unsupported, or disingenuous. (Doc. 20). Plaintiff’s motion also
suggests that the answer was untimely because it was “filed seven months after the
Complaint and four months after court-ordered discovery began.” (Id., p. 1). Plaintiff’s
motion is without merit.
Plaintiff’s motion is denied for two reasons. First, Defendant’s answer was timely.
Defendant had no obligation to respond to the complaint until he was served. Defendant
waived service on June 16, 2025 (Doc. 14) and immediately moved for an extension of
time to answer. (Doc. 15). The Court granted the motion and extended the Defendant’s
time to respond to the complaint until July 7, 2025. (Doc. 16). Defendant timely filed his
answer as directed. (Doc. 19). Second, there is no basis to sanction Defendant by striking
his answer. Striking a pleading is a severe sanction that is warranted for litigation
Case 5:24-cv-00449-MTT-CHW Document 23 Filed 12/11/25 Page 1 of 2

misconduct or upon a finding of bad faith. See, e.g., Royl Garage, LLC v. Mighty Oak
Financial, LLC, 2025 WL 1914864 (N.D. Ga. July 1, 2025) (collecting cases explaining
when imposition sanction is appropriate). Plaintiff’s motion and Defendant’s answer fail
to demonstrate that such a severe sanction is warranted. Plaintiff’s motion to strike (Doc.
20) is therefore DENIED.
SO ORDERED, this 11th day of December, 2025.
s/ Charles H. Weigle_________
Charles H. Weigle
United States Magistrate Judge
Case 5:24-cv-00449-MTT-CHW Document 23 Filed 12/11/25 Page 2 of 2