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Ryan A. Hamilton NEVADA BAR NO. 11587 HAMILTON LAW 5125 S. Durango Dr., Ste. C Las Vegas, NV 89113 (702) 818-1818 (702) 974-1139 ryan@hamiltonlawlasvegas.com

Attorney for the plaintiffs, David, Stacy, and Jack Welch

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEVADA

DAVID WELCH, a Texas Citizen; STACY WELCH, a Texas Citizen; and JACK WELCH, a Texas Citizen, Plaintiffs, vs. NARCONON FRESH START d/b/a RAINBOW CANYON RETREAT, a California Corporation; and DOES 1-100, ROE Corporations I

–

X, inclusive, Defendants. Case No.

2:14-cv-00167-JCM-CWH

PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR

CERTAIN RESPONSES TO THE COMPLAINT TO BE DEEMED ADMITTED AND TO REQUIRE DEFENDANT TO FULFILL ITS OBLIGATIONS UNDER FED. R. CIV. P. 8(b)(2)

Nearly seven weeks after being served with process, Defendant answered Plaintiffs’

Complaint by pleading that it lacked knowledge in response to basic allegations about Defendant

’s

own drug rehabilitation program

–

information that is necessarily within Defendant’s control

. Where Defendant did not disclaim knowledge, Defendant merely provided blanket denials in

violation of Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(b)(2)’s requirement that “[a] denial mu

st fairly respond to the

Case 2:14-cv-00167-JCM-CWH Document 7 Filed 03/25/14 Page 1 of 8

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substance of the allegation.” Such an Answer does not advance the litigation in any meaningful

way and makes answering a Complaint a pointless exercise.

To remedy the deficiencies of Defendant’s Answer,

Plaintiffs respectfully move the Court for an Order deeming paragraphs 17, 35, 37, 39, 40, 42, 43, 50, 51, 52, 55, 58, and 67

of Plaintiffs’

Complaint as admitted. These paragraphs contain basic factual allegations about Defendant and its drug treatment program to which Defendant improperly claims it lacks knowledge or information to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations. Plaintiffs further respectfully move the Court for an Order requiring Defendant to re-plead its blanket denials in its Answer so that they comply with the requirements of Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(b)(2).

MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES INTRODUCTION

This case involves Defendant’s drug treatment program

which Defendant fraudulently induced Plaintiff Jack Welch to enter. Once inside the program, Defendant attempted to treat Jack with nothing more than Scientology and exposed him to very dangerous situations that ultimately caused him serious injuries. Plaintiffs filed the Complaint in this case on January 29, 2014. Plaintiffs

served Defendant’s register

ed agent with process on January 31, 2014. (Doc. 5). At the

request of Defendant’s in

-house counsel, on February 10, 2014, Plaintiffs agreed to extend

Defendant’s deadline to respond to the Complaint until March 17, 2014.

See

Exhibit A

. On March 14, 2014,

Plaintiffs again agreed to extend Defendant’s deadline to respond to the

Complaint until March 21, 2014, and Defendant filed its Answer on March 21, 2014. Id.; (Doc. 6).

APPLICABLE LAW

With respect to responding to allegations in a Complaint, Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(b) provides the

responding party’s obligations:


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(b) Defenses; Admissions and Denials.

(1)

In General.

In responding to a pleading, a party must:

(A)

state in short and plain terms its defenses to each claim asserted against it; and

(B)

admit or deny the allegations asserted against it by an opposing party.

(2)

Denials--Responding to the Substance.

A denial must fairly respond to the substance of the allegation.

(3)

General and Specific Denials.

A party that intends in good faith to deny all the allegations of a pleading--including the jurisdictional grounds--may do so by a general denial. A party that does not intend to deny all the allegations must either specifically deny designated allegations or generally deny all except those specifically admitted.

(4)

Denying Part of an Allegation.

A party that intends in good faith to deny only part of an allegation must admit the part that is true and deny the rest.

(5)

Lacking Knowledge or Information.

A party that lacks knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief about the truth of an allegation must so state, and the statement has the effect of a denial.

(6)

Effect of Failing to Deny.

An allegation--other than one relating to the amount of damages--is admitted if a responsive pleading is required and the allegation is not denied. If a responsive pleading is not required, an allegation is considered denied or avoided. Fed. R. Civ. P. 8.

“

Rule 11 unquestionably requires a party and a lawyer to make a reasonable inquiry before denying factual contentions on an asserted belief or lack of information.

”

Bank of Am., N.A. v. Malibu Canyon Investors, LLC, 2:10-CV-00396-KJD, 2012 WL 115577 (D. Nev. Jan. 13, 2012)

. Further, in the Ninth Circuit, “

an answer asserting want of knowledge sufficient to form a belief as to the truth of facts alleged in a complaint does not serve as a denial if the assertion of ignorance is obviously sham. In such circumstances the facts alleged in the complaint stand admitted

.”

Harvey Aluminum (Inc.) v. N.L.R.B., 335 F.2d 749, 758 (9th Cir. 1964).

ANALYSIS

Defendant’s Answer is deficient under Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(b) for several reasons.

Defendant pleads

that it “lacks knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief about the truth” of

numerous factual allegations that are uniquely and necessarily

within Defendant’s knowledge.

In
