United States v. Lockheed Martin Corporation , 475 F. App'x 521 ( 2012 )


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  •      Case: 11-10379     Document: 00511921388         Page: 1     Date Filed: 07/16/2012
    IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT  United States Court of Appeals
    Fifth Circuit
    FILED
    July 16, 2012
    No. 11-10379                        Lyle W. Cayce
    Clerk
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ex rel. Michael J. DeKort;
    MICHAEL J. DEKORT, Individually,
    Plaintiff-Appellant
    v.
    INTEGRATED COAST GUARD SYSTEMS, A Joint Venture Partner;
    NORTHROP GRUMMAN, A Joint Venture Partner,
    Defendants-Appellees
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the Northern District of Texas
    USDC No. 3:06-CV-1792
    Before JOLLY, BENAVIDES, and DENNIS, Circuit Judges.
    PER CURIAM:*
    The plaintiff-appellant, Michael J. DeKort, appeals the district court’s
    grant of summary judgment in favor of defendants-appellees, Integrated Coast
    Guard Systems (“ICGS”) and Northrop Grumman. After reviewing the record
    and studying the briefs, we AFFIRM the final judgment of the district court for
    *
    Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
    be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.
    R. 47.5.4.
    Case: 11-10379   Document: 00511921388       Page: 2   Date Filed: 07/16/2012
    No. 11-10379
    essentially the same reasons given by the district court in its Memorandum
    Opinion and Order of October 27, 2010.
    DeKort also appeals the district court’s denial of (1) his motion to
    reconsider the grant of summary judgment; (2) his motion for partial summary
    judgment; and (3) his motion for leave to file a sixth amended complaint.
    We conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying
    DeKort’s motion to reconsider without considering the additional evidence that
    DeKort submitted, because the evidence—a declaration by H. Clayton Foushee—
    contained no information that was unavailable before the entry of judgment. See
    Templet v. HydroChem Inc., 
    367 F.3d 473
    , 477, 479 (5th Cir. 2004); Russ v. Int’l
    Paper Co., 
    943 F.2d 589
    , 593 (5th Cir. 1991).
    We also conclude that the district court did not err in denying DeKort’s
    motion for partial summary judgment because he attempted to raise a new
    claim, not asserted in his fifth amended complaint. See Fisher v. Metro. Life Ins.
    Co., 
    895 F.2d 1073
    , 1078 (5th Cir. 1990); see also Corey Airport Servs., Inc. v.
    Decosta, 
    587 F.3d 1280
    , 1282 n.2 (11th Cir. 2009) (“[Plaintiff] cannot amend its
    complaint by adding a new claim beyond its summary judgment papers . . . .”);
    Gilmour v. Gates, McDonald and Co., 
    382 F.3d 1312
    , 1314-15 (11th Cir. 2004)
    (“[T]he Supreme Court has mandated a liberal pleading standard for civil
    complaints . . . . This standard however does not afford plaintiffs with an
    opportunity to raise new claims at the summary judgment stage. . . . At the
    summary judgment stage, the proper procedure for plaintiffs to assert a new
    claim is to amend the complaint in accordance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a).”).
    After reviewing the record and studying the briefs, we also see no error in
    the district court’s decision to deny DeKort’s motion for leave to file a sixth
    amended complaint.
    Finally, we deny as moot ICGS and Northrop Grumman’s September 30,
    2011 motion to take judicial notice.
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    Case: 11-10379   Document: 00511921388   Page: 3   Date Filed: 07/16/2012
    No. 11-10379
    Therefore, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court.
    3