BP Products North America Inc. v. Premier Oil Company, LLC et al

Case Summary: 11-cv-02162

Plaintiff BP Products North America Inc. brought this action alleging breach of contract by Premier Oil Company, LLC. According to BP, Defendants M. Kyle Rice, Richard K. Rice, and POC Real Estate Company, LLC guaranteed Premier’s payment to BP under these contracts and were therefore liable as well.

All Defendants were initially represented by one law firm and filed one Answer to Plaintiff’s complaint on June 1, 2011. The Answer stated, among other things, that Kyle Rice executed guarantees on the contracts. Under the court’s scheduling order, amendments to the pleadings were permitted through August 31, 2011. Kyle eventually obtained his own counsel and, on December 20, 2012, sought leave to amend the original Answer.

The district court held a hearing on Kyle’s motion. Good cause is required to amend the Answer after the scheduling order’s deadline has passed. According to the court, Kyle knew of the information contained in the amendment at the time the original Answer was filed, had not been diligent in attempting to amend his answer before the scheduling order’s deadline, and therefore did not have good cause to amend. The court denied Kyle’s motion, and Plaintiff and Kyle subsequently reached a settlement.

Case Highlights

• Complaint filed 3/02/2011 (Doc #1)
• Answer filed jointly by Defendants 6/01/2011 (Doc #11)
• Motion for Leave to Amend filed by Kyle Rice 12/20/2012 (Doc #50)
• Order denying motion 3/15/2013 (Doc #81)
• Settlement between Plaintiff and Kyle Rice 12/19/2013 (Doc #127)

Case-related documents, including those referenced above, are available via the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) service. For more information, visit Pacer.gov.