Whitney v. American Airlines

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION
STACIE WHITNEY, 	)
)
Plaintiff, 	)
)
vs. 	) 	Case No. 4:25-cv-1295-MTS
)
AMERICAN AIRLINES, 	)
)
Defendant. 	)
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
After Plaintiff filed her Complaint in this matter, the Clerk of Court eventually
entered default against Defendant for its failure to plead or otherwise defend. 	Doc. [7].
Defendant eventually appeared, sought vacatur of the entry of default, and filed an
Answer. In those filings, Defendant noted that the Complaint that Plaintiff served upon it
was different than the Complaint on CM/ECF, the Complaint that Plaintiff filed with the
Court. 	See Doc. [13] n.1. 	To clear up the legitimate confusion about the operative
pleading in this matter, the Court required Plaintiff to file an Amended Complaint. Doc.
[33]. 	Plaintiff timely did so. 	Doc. [35]. 	And Defendant timely moved to dismiss it.
Doc. [39]; see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). Plaintiff opposed the Motion, Doc. [41], and
subsequently sought leave to file a Second Amended Complaint, Doc. [43].
The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure generally provide plaintiffs with the ability
to amend a complaint once as a matter of course within twenty-one days after service of a
motion under Rule 12(b). 	See Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(1); see also 6 Wright & Miller’s
Federal Practice and Procedure § 1474 (3d ed.) (“Perhaps the most common use of Rule
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15(a) is by a party seeking to amend in order to cure a defective pleading.”). 	Plaintiff
here has not amended her pleading as a matter of course in this litigation. 	To the extent
that Plaintiff no longer may amend her pleading as a matter of course because the Court
required her to file an amended complaint, the Court would grant her leave to amend.
See Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2) (“The court should freely give leave when justice so
requires.”); 	see 	also 	Allen 	v. 	Semi 	Trucking, 	LLC, 	4:23-cv-0639-MTS, 	2025 	WL
3687386, at *1 (E.D. Mo. Dec. 19, 2025) (discussing the “liberal amendment standard
that the Federal Rules establish”).
The Court therefore will allow Plaintiff to file her Second Amended Complaint
and will provide her through Monday, February 02, 2026, to do so. 	The Court cautions
Plaintiff, though, that barring particularly unusual circumstances, it will not allow
amendment again in response to a dispositive motion. See Popoalii v. Corr. Med. Servs.,
512 F.3d 488, 497 (8th Cir. 2008) (recognizing the “repeated failure to cure deficiencies
by amendments previously allowed” as a reason to deny leave to amend); accord
Salameh v. Tarsadia Hotel, 726 F.3d 1124, 1133 (9th Cir. 2013) (“A district court’s
discretion 	to 	deny 	leave 	to 	amend 	is 	‘particularly 	broad’ 	where 	the 	plaintiff 	has
previously amended.”). Plaintiff, therefore, should amend her pleading carefully.*
Accordingly,
* The Court reminds Plaintiff that, once she files her Second Amended Complaint, her previous
complaints will no longer perform any function in this case, and only what Plaintiff alleges in her
Second Amended Complaint will govern. See Schlafly v. Eagle Forum, 970 F.3d 924, 933 (8th
Cir. 2020); Gross v. White, 340 F. App’x 527, 534 (11th Cir. 2009) (per curiam).
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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to Amend, Doc.
[43], is GRANTED. 	Plaintiff shall file her Second Amended Complaint no later than
Monday, February 02, 2026.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss the First
Amended Complaint, Doc. [39], is DENIED without prejudice as moot in light of the
forthcoming Second Amended Complaint.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Defendant’s Motion to Stay Discovery, Doc.
[45], is GRANTED.
IT IS FINALLY ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion to Compel, Doc. [44], is
DENIED without prejudice.
Dated this 26th day of January 2026.
MATTHEW T. SCHELP
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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