Lukas v. United States, CIVIL ACTION NO. 14-40152-TSH

• Court: United States District Courts. 1st Circuit. United States District Courts. 1st Circuit. District of Massachusetts
• Citation: 133 F.Supp.3d 284
• Docket Number: CIVIL ACTION NO. 14-40152-TSH
• Parties: Stephen Lukas, Plaintiff, v. United States of America, Defendant.
• Decision Date: 24 September 2015

133 F.Supp.3d 284

Stephen Lukas, Plaintiff,
v.
United States of America, Defendant.

CIVIL ACTION NO. 14-40152-TSH

United States District Court, D. Massachusetts.

Signed September 24, 2015

133 F.Supp.3d 285

David D. Dishman, Law Office of David D. Dishman, Boston, MA, Matthew J. Fogelman, Fogelman & Fogelman, Newton, MA, for Plaintiff.

Jessica P. Driscoll, United States Attorney's Office, Boston, MA, for Defendant.

ORDER AND MEMORANDUM OF DECISION ON PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO AMEND COMPLAINT TO ADD CORRENA LUKAS AS PLAINTIFF AND PLAINTIFF'S MOTION FOR LEAVE TO AMEND COMPLAINT TO ADD CAMERON MACKAY AS DEFENDANT

HILLMAN, DISTRICT JUDGE

Pending before the Court are Plaintiff's motions to (1) amend his complaint to add Correna Lukas as a plaintiff; and (2)

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amend his complaint to add Cameron MacKay as a defendant. For the following reasons, Plaintiff's motion is granted with respect to adding Correna Lukas as a plaintiff and denied with respect to adding Cameron Mackay as a defendant.

Background

On November 4, 2011, Stephen Lukas (Plaintiff) and Cameron MacKay were involved in a motor-vehicle accident in Leominster, MA. Plaintiff alleges that his vehicle was struck from behind by a vehicle driven by MacKay and that he suffered significant injuries as a result. Plaintiff brought suit against MacKay in Superior Court; on July 17, 2013, during the course of discovery, Plaintiff learned that MacKay had been employed by the United States Navy at the time of the accident.

On October 28, 2013, Plaintiff filed an administrative claim with the Office of the Judge Advocate General pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2675, seeking to recover from the United States damages for his injuries. Nearly one year later, on October 17, 2014, Plaintiff's wife, Correna Lukas, filed an administrative claim for her own damages relating to Plaintiff's injuries. Four days after that, Plaintiff filed suit against the United States in this Court, alleging negligence and negligent infliction of emotional distress. On February 6, 2015, both Plaintiff's and Correna Lukas's administrative claims were denied by the Office of the Judge Advocate General. Plaintiff then moved on April 6, 2015 to amend his complaint to add Correna Lukas as a plaintiff in this lawsuit, so that she could assert her own claims for the loss of her husband's consortium. On July 6, 2015, Plaintiff filed an additional motion to amend his complaint, this time to add Cameron MacKay as a defendant.

Discussion

Pursuant to Rule 15 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a party may amend his or her complaint before trial with the court's leave, and "[t]he court should freely give leave when justice so requires." Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2). The grant or denial is within the discretion of this Court. Foman v. Davis , 371 U.S. 178, 182, 83 S.Ct. 227, 9 L.Ed.2d 222 (1962). Leave should be freely given absent an apparent or declared reason, "such as undue delay, bad faith or dilatory motive on the part of the movant, repeated failure to cure deficiencies by amendments previously allowed, undue prejudice to the opposing party by virtue of allowance of the amendment, [or] futility of amendment ...." Klunder v. Brown Univ. , 778 F.3d 24, 34 (1st Cir.2015) (quoting Foman , 371 U.S. at 182, 83 S.Ct. 227 ).

1. Motion for Leave to Amend to Add Correna Lukas as Plaintiff

Plaintiff argues that his motion should be granted because it would be in the interest of justice to allow Correna Lukas to assert her claim for loss of consortium alongside her husband's personal-injury claims. Plaintiff further asserts that Correna Lukas's claim is timely because it did not accrue until Plaintiff learned that MacKay had been employed by the United States Navy. The United States, for its part, argues that Plaintiff's motion should be denied on the ground of futility; specifically, the United States avers that Correna Lukas's loss-of-consortium claim is barred because she failed to file an administrative claim within two years of the accident.

"It is ‘elementary’ that the United States, as sovereign, is immune from suit unless it has consented to be sued." Skwira v. United States , 344 F.3d 64, 72 (1st Cir.2003) (quoting United States v. Mitchell , 445 U.S. 535, 538, 100 S.Ct. 1349, 63 L.Ed.2d 607 (1980) ). The Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) "expressly waives the

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