Law Practice,
Civil Procedure,
Appellate Practice
Apr. 10, 2023
A case study in what not to do when amending complaints
“When a complaint contains allegations that are fatal to a cause of action,” stated Justice M. Bruce Smith, “a plaintiff cannot avoid those defects by simply filing an amended complaint that omits the problematic facts or pleads facts inconsistent with those alleged earlier.”
Garret D. Murai
Partner
Nomos LLP
Garret is the editor of the California Construction Law Blog at www.calconstructionlawblog.com.
Fights between owners and contractors under Business and Professions Code section 7031 can get mean and nasty. An owner's remedy under Section 7031, as courts have stated, can be "unjust," "harsh[ ]," and even "draconian" - and damages can be significant. The next case, Panterra GP, Inc. v. Superior Court, 74 Cal.App.5th 697 (2022) is no different. It even involved a disagreement between the very justices deciding the case.
The P...
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