Sorority sisters given 30 days to amend complaint, or have case dismissed permanently
It's been nearly a year since the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals dismissed the appeal lawsuit by the six KKG sorority sisters, and Judge Carolyn B. McHugh found the case was not appealable without a final order from Johnson.
In August 2023, Johnson dismissed the sorority sisters' lawsuit against KKG without prejudice for admitting a transgender member into the University of Wyoming chapter, giving the plaintiffs an option to amend their complaint.
Last June, McHugh gave the plaintiffs two options: stand on their existing complaint and seek a final decision from the Wyoming judge, or amend their complaint and continue their case at the federal district court level.
However, the sorority sisters have yet to make a decision.
In January 2024, another lawsuit was filed against KKG by sorority alumnae Patsy Levang and Cheryl Tuck-Smith in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.
However, the Ohio federal judge moved to transfer the case to Wyoming under the 'first-to-file' rule. U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson wrote his court lacked jurisdiction to oversee the case because a duplicative lawsuit was already filed in Wyoming federal court.
Levang and Tuck-Smith filed a petition for writ of mandamus to the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, asking if it was proper for the Ohio court to transfer the case to Wyoming. This decision has not been released yet.
KKG questioned if the sorority sisters were 'strategically delaying' the lawsuit in their motion filed in February. The motion asked Johnson to set a deadline for the sorority sisters to amend their complaint or have the case dismissed entirely.
On Friday, Johnson sided with the appellants and gave the sorority sisters 30 days to submit their second complaint.
'Let us be the first to acknowledge that this case has ended up in a rather confusing procedural Neverland,' Johnson wrote.
The plaintiffs' failure to make a move on either of McHugh's suggested options put the case 'in a Peter Pan-esque state of immaturity, preventing any court from adjudicating on the merits,' Johnson added.
If an amended complaint is not submitted by the deadline, then it will be dismissed permanently, according to court documents.
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