Opinion ID: 1249448
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Did the District Court Abuse Its Discretion in Denying Chambers' Leave to Amend His Complaint?

Text: Rule 15(a) of the Idaho Rules of Civil Procedure empowers the trial judge with discretion to allow a party to amend his or her complaint after a responsive pleading has been filed. Whenever a discretionary ruling of a trial court is before this Court, our inquiry is threefold: (1) whether the trial court correctly perceived the issue as one of discretion; (2) whether the trial court acted within the outer boundaries of its discretion and consistently with the legal standards applicable to the specific choices available to it; and (3) whether the trial court reached its decision by an exercise of reason. Sun Valley Shopping Ctr. v. Idaho Power Co., 119 Idaho 87, 94, 803 P.2d 993, 1000 (1991), citing State v. Hedger, 115 Idaho 598, 600, 768 P.2d 1331, 1333 (1989). The district court's order denying Chambers' motion to amend his complaint to include a cause of action against the estate of Bob J. Thomas reveals compliance with our standard of review. The district court ruled that the proposed amendment was not a valid claim because of its previous ruling that Thomas had not received notice of Chambers' contention that he was not bound by the 1979 Amendment. If the amended pleading does not set out a valid claim ... it is not an abuse of discretion for the trial court to deny the motion to file the amended complaint. Black Canyon Racquetball Club v. Idaho First Nat'l Bank, 119 Idaho 171, 175, 804 P.2d 900, 904 (1991). We conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Chambers' motion for leave to amend his complaint. For the foregoing reasons, the decision of the district court is affirmed. Costs to respondent Chambers. BAKES, C.J., and BISTLINE, JOHNSON and TROUT, JJ., concur.