Little Jimmy O’Leary, lives in Birmingham, Alabama and works as a law clerk for a federal judge in Mississippi. While Little Jimmy O’Leary hates the humidity of Florida, he owns a vacation home in Marco Island, Florida which he rents out. Over the summer break, Little Jimmy O’Leary decides to visit his father who lives in Marco Island, Florida. While driving on Interstate 75 in Florida, Little Jimmy O’Leary gets into a car accident with Sally Johnson, who owns a vacation home in Florida, but is a resident of New Jersey. As a result of the accident, Little Jimmy O’Leary suffers serious injuries and a totaled car. In addition to severe brain injuries, Little Jimmy O’Leary loses all use of his right arm. Sally Johnson suffers no serious medical injuries, but her Fiat 500 suffers over $5,000 in damages. After recovering from his injuries, Little Jimmy O’Leary returns home to Alabama. Because Little Jimmy O’Leary cannot type with his right hand, he loses his job as a law clerk.
Assume that you are working as an attorney representing Sally. Assume that Jimmy’s complaint was filed in the Middle District of Florida on May 8, 2021 and served on Sally on May 20, 2021, when would Sally have to file a responsive pleading? Discuss what type of responsive pleading she should file? After you decide what responsive pleading Sally should file and when she should file the pleading, draft the pleading that Sally’s attorney may file in response to the complaint. As you draft the responsive pleading, consider what additional information that Sally’s attorney would need to obtain before filing the responsive pleading.