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Amendment of Pleadings under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

Rule 15 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure provides for amendments of the pleadings. Rule 15(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure allows a party to amend its pleading once as a matter of course within 21 days after serving it or within 21 days after service of a responsive pleading. If however, the party misses these deadlines, the party may either obtain written consent of the opposite party to amend the pleading or file a motion for leave of court to amend. The court should freely give leave when justice so requires.

The courts have liberally interpreted this language as amendments should be freely allowed to avoid delay or complete frustration of a determination of case on merits. Courts permit amendment of pleadings for virtually any purpose, including adding claims, altering legal theories, or requesting different or additional relief. However this judicial liberalism is not infinite. Courts are given wide discretion to deny a motion to amend. Factors that can weigh against granting leave to amend pleading include:

  •  prejudice to defendant;
  •  bad-faith motive on part of plaintiff, e.g., use of motion to postpone trial date, impose additional expense on  opposing party, or gain additional leverage in settlement negotiations;
  •  undue delay or dilatory conduct by plaintiff;
  •  futility of proposed amendment; and
  •  impact on judicial economy, judicial resources and court’s ability to manage cases and control its dockets.

Likewise, factors weighing in favor of allowing amendment to complaint include:

  •  preference for applications of procedural rules that permit courts to render decisions on merits;
  •  avoiding piecemeal litigation and conserving court’s and parties’ resources by resolving related matters in one  proceeding; and
  •  avoiding harm to plaintiff that would be caused by denying leave to amend.

Although leave to re plead is within the discretion of the court, refusal to grant it without any justifying reason is an abuse of discretion.

An amended pleading ordinarily supersedes prior pleading.  The prior pleading is in effect treated as withdrawn as to all matters not restated in the amended pleading, and becomes functus officio. This approach ensures that a particular claim will be decided on the merits rather than on technicalities.

Interpreting and applying Rule 15 of the Federal Civil Procedure Code involve common sense and fairness more than legal analysis or intellectual insight.  Complaints are living documents, and may need to be amended as discovery bears out new facts.  However, this right should be used judiciously keeping in mind that original assertions can make for interesting trial and summary judgment material and may serve as a basis for sanctions.

 


Inside Amendment of Pleadings under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure