Kremer v. Reddit, Inc.

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE

NORTHEASTERN DIVISION

MAXWELL KREMER,

Plaintiff, Case No. 2:21-cv-00038

v. Chief Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw, Jr.

Magistrate Judge Alistair E. Newbern

REDDIT, INC.,

Defendant.

MEMORANDUM ORDER

Pro se Plaintiff Maxwell Kremer alleges that Defendant Reddit, Inc., has harmed him by

violating applicable copyright and trademark laws. (Doc. No. 1.) On September 23, 2021, Reddit

filed a motion to dismiss Kremer’s complaint under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6).

(Doc. No. 8.) The Court ordered Kremer to file any response in opposition to the motion no later

than fourteen days after being served with the motion. (Doc. No. 13.) On October 1, 2021, Kremer

filed a motion to strike Reddit’s motion to dismiss (Doc. No. 14), but has not otherwise responded

to that motion. Reddit has filed a motion asking the Court to treat Kremer’s motion to strike as a

response to its motion to dismiss and for leave to file a reply brief in further support of its motion

(Doc. No. 16). For the reasons that follow, Kremer’s motion to strike will be denied. The Court

will construe Kremer’s motion to strike as a response to the pending motion to dismiss and will

grant Reddit’s motion for leave to file a reply.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(f) provides that the Court may “strike from a pleading

an insufficient defense or any redundant, immaterial, impertinent, or scandalous matter.” Fed. R.

Civ. P. 12(f). “Motions to strike are viewed with disfavor and are not frequently granted.”

Operating Eng’rs Local 324 Health Care Plan v. G & W Constr. Co., 783 F.3d 1045, 1050 (6th

Cir. 2015); see also Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. v. United States, 201 F.2d 819, 822 (6th

Cir. 1953) (“[T]he action of striking a pleading should be sparingly used by the courts . . . [and] is

a drastic remedy to be resorted to only when required for the purposes of justice.”). This reluctance

to strike pleadings stems from “the practical difficulty of deciding cases without a factual record

. . .” Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., 201 F.2d at 822, and the potentially “dilatory and often

harassing character” of a motion to strike, 5C Charles Alan Wright & Arthur R. Miller, Federal

Practice and Procedure § 1381 (3d ed. updated Apr. 2021).

Kremer’s motion to strike will be denied because Rule 12(f) provides a basis for striking

pleadings, not motions. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(f); see also Fed. R. Civ. P. 7(a) (defining

“pleadings” to include a complaint, a third-party complaint, an answer to a complaint,

counterclaim, crossclaim, or third-party complaint, or a reply to an answer). However, because

Kremer’s motion to strike addresses arguments raised in Reddit’s motion to dismiss, and because

Kremer has not otherwise responded to that motion, the Court will liberally construe the motion

to strike as Kremer’s response in opposition to the motion to dismiss. See Goodman v. Nationstar

Mortg., LLC, No. 3:13-1377, 2014 WL 12774977, at *1 (M.D. Tenn. Mar. 20, 2014) (denying

plaintiff’s motion to strike defendant’s motion to dismiss but, “to the extent that the plaintiff’s

motion sets forth her objections to the motion to dismiss,” construing it as her response in

opposition to that motion).

Accordingly, Kremer’s motion to strike Reddit’s motion to dismiss (Doc. No. 14) is

DENIED. Reddit’s motion for leave to file a reply in further support of its motion to dismiss and

to treat Kremer’s motion as a response (Doc. No. 16) is GRANTED. The Clerk of Court is

DIRECTED to file Reddit’s proposed reply (Doc. No. 16-1) as a separate docket entry.

Reddit’s motion to dismiss (Doc. No. 8) remains pending.

It is so ORDERED.

ALIST E. NEWBERN

United States Magistrate Judge