Judge: Serena R. Murillo, Case: 20STCV21262, Date: 2023-01-18 Tentative Ruling
Case Number: 20STCV21262 Hearing Date: January 18, 2023 Dept: 29
TENTATIVE
Plaintiff Kelley Weigman’s motion for leave to amend the complaint is
GRANTED.
Legal Standard
California Code
of Civil Procedure section¿473, subdivision¿(a)(1) provides, in relevant part:
“The court may, in furtherance of justice, and on any terms as may be proper,
allow a party¿to amend any pleading or proceeding by adding or striking out the
name of any party, or by correcting a mistake in the name of a party, or a
mistake in any other respect; and may, upon like terms, enlarge the time for
answer or demurrer.¿ The court may likewise, in its discretion, after notice to
the adverse party, allow, upon any terms as may be just, an amendment to any
pleading or proceeding in other particulars; and may upon like terms allow an
answer to be made after the time limited by this code.”¿
“This discretion
should be exercised liberally in favor of amendments, for judicial policy favors
resolution of all disputed matters in the same lawsuit.”¿¿(Kittredge Sports
Co. v. Superior Court¿(1989) 213 Cal.App.3d 1045, 1047.)¿ Ordinarily, the
court will not consider the validity of the proposed amended pleading in ruling
on a motion for leave since grounds for a demurrer or motion to strike are
premature.¿ The court, however, does have discretion to deny leave to amend
where a proposed amendment fails to state a valid cause of action as a matter
of law and the defect cannot be cured by further amendment.¿¿(See¿California
Casualty General Ins. Co. v. Superior Court¿(1985) 173 Cal.App.3d 274,
281¿(overruled on other grounds by¿Kransco¿v. American Empire Surplus Lines
Ins. Co.¿(2000) 23 Cal.4th 390).)¿
Under¿California
Rules of Court¿Rule 3.1324(a), a motion to amend a pleading shall (1) include a
copy of the proposed amendment or amended pleading, which must be serially
numbered to differentiate it from previous pleadings or amendments; (2) state
what allegations in the previous pleading are proposed to be deleted, if any,
and where, by page, paragraph and line number, the deleted allegations are
located; and (3) state what allegations are proposed to be added to the
previous pleading, if any,¿and where, by page, paragraph, and line number, the additional
allegations are located.¿
Under¿California
Rule of Court¿Rule 3.1324(b), a separate declaration must accompany the motion
and must specify (1) the effect of the amendment; (2) why the amendment is
necessary and proper; (3) when the facts giving rise to the amended allegations
were discovered; and (4)¿the reasons why the request for amendment was not made
earlier.¿
Discussion
Plaintiff seeks leave to
amend the complaint to change the address stated in the
Complaint to conform to the location testified to by the defendant as the
location where the defendant identified the subject fall to have occurred. The
plaintiff is not seeking a trial continuance in this matter. To the contrary,
the trial date is more than one year from the date of the filing of this
motion. There will be no added costs of preparation for trial, nor any
increased burden of discovery by this amendment. There will be no loss of
critical evidence by this amendment.
The Court finds Plaintiff
has complied with CRC Rule 3.1324 by including a copy of the proposed
amended complaint and indicating what allegations are proposed to be added to
the previous pleading. Plaintiff also explains that it was recently discovered
during Defendant’s Person Most Qualified’s deposition, which was completed on
May 23, 2022, that the address of the location of Plaintiff’s fall was 4501 Los
Coyotes Diagonal in Long Beach. This is sufficient to explain why the amendment
is necessary and proper, when the facts giving rise to the amended allegations
were discovered, and why it was not made earlier. Further, trial is set
for August of 2023 and Plaintiff is not seeking a trial continuance.
As Defendant has not opposed the motion for leave to amend, it
does not appear it would be prejudiced by permitting this amendment.
Accordingly, the
Court grants the motion for leave to amend the complaint.
Conclusion
Based on the
foregoing, Plaintiff’s motion for leave to amend the complaint is GRANTED.
Moving party is directed to give notice.