GREGORY K. FRIZZELL, District Judge.
Before the court is the Motion to Dismiss [Doc. No. 37] of White Reliability Services, Inc. ("WRS"), a third-party defendant in two other related actions, and the Motion for Leave to Amend of plaintiffs Benjamin Grice and Kayla Patchett (the "Grice plaintiffs") [Doc. No. 38]. For the reasons set forth below, WRS's motion is granted and the Grice plaintiffs' motion is denied as futile.
This dispute arises from an explosion at a refinery in Coffeyville, Kansas on July 29, 2014. The Grice plaintiffs filed suit on July 14, 2016, alleging various negligence and product liability claims. On November 16, 2016, the Grice plaintiffs filed a pleading they denominated as a "crossclaim" against WRS—a company named as a third-party defendant in two other related actions consolidated with this action for discovery purposes only. WRS was impleaded as a third-party defendant in those lawsuits—Rigdon v. Flowserve Corp., et al., No. 16-cv-81-GKF-FHM and Collier, et al. v. Flowserve Corp., et al., No. 16-cv-304-GKF-FHM —by VibeServ Corporation ("VibeServ") on September 29, 2016. Neither WRS nor Vibeserv are parties to this action. WRS now moves to dismiss the Grice plaintiffs' "crossclaim" as barred by Local Civil Rule 7.2(1) and the applicable statute of limitations. The Grice plaintiffs respond that Fed. R. Civ. P 14(a)(3) permits them to assert a claim against WRS as of right, and seek leave to amend their "crossclaim."
Plaintiffs' filing of the "crossclaim"
Nevertheless, "[a] failure to comply with the requirements of [Rule] 7.2(l), without more, does not compel a denial of a plaintiff's [effort] to amend." See Griffin v. Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 1 of Tulsa Cty., Okla., No. 13-CV-702-CVE-FHM, 2014 WL 585433, at *1 (N.D. Okla. Feb. 13, 2014). "Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a), leave to amend should be freely given," Mineta v. Bd. of Cty. Comm'rs of Cty. of Del., 2007 WL 680792, at *2 (N.D. Okla. Feb. 28, 2007), unless such amendment would be "futile"—that is, "subject to dismissal," Steadfast Ins.Co. v. Agric. Ins. Co., No. 05-CV-126-GKF-TLW, 2014 WL 1901175, at *6 (N.D. Okla. May 13, 2014). Amendment may be futile where a party seeks to add untimely claims barred by a statute of limitation. See id. at *6-8.
Both Kansas and Oklahoma law provide a two-year statute of limitations window for personal injury actions. See Kan. Stat. Ann. § 60-513; 12 O.S. §95. Since the Grice plaintiffs' injury occurred on July 29, 2014—the date of the explosion at the Coffeyville refinery—their claims expired on July 29, 2016. WRS was impleaded in the Rigdon action by defendant VibeServ on September 29, 2016. The Grice plaintiffs did not sue WRS until November 16, 2016. [Doc. No. 36]. Thus, the Grice plaintiffs' "crossclaim" is barred by the applicable statute of limitations unless it "relates back" to the original complaint in this case under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
Per Fed. R. Civ. P. 15, it does not. And the Grice plaintiffs concede as much. Indeed, they do not even engage WRS's statute of limitations argument. In any event, Rule 15 offers the Grice plaintiffs no relief. For one thing, they identify no Kansas or Oklahoma statute "allow[ing] relation back" under the circumstances. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(c)(1)(A). For another, the "crossclaim" does not relate back under Rule 15(c)(1)(C)'s mistaken identity exception. The Grice plaintiffs note that WRS "was first identified as a potential party to th[e] case[] on September 29, 2016[,] when they were sued as a third-party [d]efendant." [Doc. No. 97, p. 3]. But "plaintiff[s'] lack of knowledge of the intended defendant's identity is not a `mistake concerning the identity of the proper party' within the meaning of Rule 15." See Garrett v. Fleming, 362 F.2d 692, 696 (10th Cir. 2004); Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(c)(1)(C).
WHEREFORE, WRS's Motion to Dismiss [Doc. No. 37] is granted, and the Grice plaintiffs' Motion for Leave to Amend [Doc. No. 38] is denied.
IT IS SO ORDERED.