Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a), a party may amend its pleading once as a matter of course. If the pleading is one to which a responsive pleading is required, the party has 21 days to amend after either the service of a responsive pleading or the service of a motion under Rule 12(b), (e), or (f). How is the deadline determined in this scenario?
The 21-day period runs from whichever event occurs earlier.
The 21-day period only runs from the service of the responsive pleading.
The 21-day period runs from whichever event occurs later.
The party may choose which event starts the 21-day period.
This is the correct statement of the rule. Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a)(1)(B) specifies that if a pleading requires a response, the party may amend it once as a matter of course within 21 days after service of the responsive pleading or 21 days after service of a motion under Rule 12(b), (e), or (f), whichever is earlier. This prevents a party from waiting for a later responsive pleading if an earlier Rule 12 motion has already been filed, ensuring the amendment process proceeds efficiently. The other options misrepresent this critical timing element.
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