Legal Memorandum: Amendment of Complaints in CA

Issue: What are the standards for amendment of complaints under California law?

At early common law, pleading practice was surrounded by such rigid formalism that misspelling the name of the town where the cause accrued could be a fatal defect.  See generally, TA s "Peter J. Donnici, The Amendment of Pleadings – A Stu" c 1 l "Peter J. Donnici, The Amendment of Pleadings–A Study of the Operation of Judicial Discretionin the Federal Courts, 37 So. Cal. L. Rev. 529 (1964)"Peter J. Donnici, The Amendment of Pleadings – A Study of the Operation of Judicial Discretion in the Federal Courts, 37 So. Cal. L. Rev. 529, 529 (1964) (hereinafter “Donnici”).  Fortunately, the Rules now reject the archaic approach that viewed pleading as a game of skill in which one misstep by counsel decided the outcome of the case; instead, the Federal Rules accept the principle that the purpose of pleading is merely to facilitate a proper decision on the merits.  TA s "Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 48 (1957)" c 2 l "Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41 (1957)"Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 48 (1957).  Thus, pleadings should direct attention to the general set of facts that gave rise to the cause of action so that the opposing party may properly channel discovery efforts.TA s "Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 48 (1957)" c 2  Id. at 48.

Rule 15(a) provides that:

A party may amend the party’s pleading once […]

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