Cureton v. Cianbro Corp. (Maryland U.S.D.C.)(not approved for publication)

Signed January 30, 2007. Opinion and Order by Judge J. Frederick Motz (not approved for publication)

On motion for reconsideration of the judge's earlier dismissal and for leave to amend the complaint, the judge noted that, in the Fourth Circuit (per the Bass case which interpreted the Supreme court decision in Swierkiewicz), an earlier judgment may be amended to accommodate an intervening change in controlling law, to account for new evidence not available at trial, or to correct a clear error of law or prevent manifest injustice, but not to raise arguments which could have been raised prior to the issuance of the judgment. By contrast, Cureton here only urged the judge to follow a more liberal interpretation of Swierkiewicz, which position had been considered and rejected by the judge in making the original decision. The court also found no reason to grant leave to amend the complaint, since Cureton had been aware of Bass' more restrictive pleading requirements from the very beginning, and in any event the proffered amended complaint still fell far short of the required standard.

This Opinion and Order are available in PDF format. The Court's earlier opinion dismissing the case is here.