Amendments, Relation Back, and Counterclaims in Civil Procedure, Slides of Civil procedure

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amendment

15(a) Amendments Before Trial. (1) Amending as a Matter of Course.

A party may amend its pleading once as a matter of course within:

(A) 21 days after serving it, or

(B) if the pleading is one to which a responsive pleading is required, 21 days after service of a responsive pleading or 21 days after service of a motion under Rule 12(b), (e), or (f), whichever is earlier.

relation back

(c) Relation Back of Amendments. (1) When an Amendment Relates Back. An amendment to a pleading relates back to the date of the original pleading when: (A) the law that provides the applicable statute of limitations allows relation back; (B) the amendment asserts a claim or defense that arose out of the conduct, transaction, or occurrence set out — or attempted to be set out — in the original pleading; or…

- P sues D (within the statute of

limitations) for battery

- After the statute of limitations

had run on his breach of contract

action against D, P amends his

complaint against D to include the

breach of contract action

- Is it time barred?

Blair v. Durham

(6 th^ Cir. 1943)

• P sues D for negligent manufacturing

because the product he bought blew

up in his face

• After the statute of limitations ran,

he amended his complaint to allege

negligent hiring of workers – in

particular the hiring of an employee

with a criminal record for maliciously

putting bombs in products

- P sues D for battery within the

statute of limitations

- After the statute of limitations has

run, he find out that X is the one

who committed the battery

- P amends the complaint to name

X and serves X

- relation back?

counterclaims

13(a) Compulsory Counterclaim. (1) In General. A pleading must state as a counterclaim any claim that — at the time of its service — the pleader has against an opposing party if the claim: (A) arises out of the transaction or occurrence that is the subject matter of the opposing party’s claim; and (B) does not require adding another party over whom the court cannot acquire jurisdiction. (2) Exceptions. The pleader need not state the claim if: (A) when the action was commenced, the claim was the subject of another pending action; or (B) the opposing party sued on its claim by attachment or other process that did not establish personal jurisdiction over the pleader on that claim, and the pleader does not assert any counterclaim under this rule.

Assume NY does not have a compulsory counterclaim rule.

• P sues D in federal court
• D fails to bring a cause of action against P that concerns the same T or O as P’s claim against D
• D subsequently sues P in New York state court on the cause of action he refrained from bringing in the federal suit
• Is D barred from bringing the cause of action anyway?

- P sues D in state court for battery.

- While that action is proceeding D

sues P in federal court for D's

damages from the same brawl.

- Is P required to bring his battery

action in the federal court as a

compulsory counterclaim to D's

federal suit against P?

• Officer P sues arrestee D in California state court for battery in connections with P's arrest of D.
• California has a compulsory counterclaim rule.
• Must D join in his answer his federal civil rights action against P concerning P's actions in the arrest?
  • If D brings the counterclaim, may P remove?
  • If D brings the counterclaim, may D remove?

Officer X knows that he is likely to be

sued under federal civil rights law by Y,

someone he arrested. He feels that a

state court would be more favorable to

him than a federal court. How might X

use the compulsory counterclaim rule

(assuming it applies in state court) to

ensure a state court forum for Y’s

federal civil rights action?