Opinion ID: 1893290
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: second amended complaint

Text: On September 4, 1991, James sought to amend his complaint to include a claim against St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company, the insurer of the defendant physicians, alleging deliberate misrepresentation of the facts by the defendant physicians with full knowledge and consent of St. Paul and their attorney. The basis of the motion was a transcript of an August 25, 1987, conversation between Drs. Hassell and Hollingshead and their attorney, which the plaintiff did not discover until the deposition of a defense expert on July 31, 1991. According to James, both doctors admitted during the initial conversation with their attorney that Judy had received Pitocin while still in labor, and which both doctors later denied in discovery depositions. The trial court denied the motion to amend as being both untimely and failing to state a claim. Mississippi Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a) states that leave to amend pleadings should be freely granted by the trial court when justice so requires, and this Court in turn reviews the lower court's decision upon an abuse of discretion standard. McDonald v. Holmes, 595 So.2d 434, 435 (Miss. 1992). In the instant case, James discovered the matter which he claims warranted an amendment on July 31, 1991. However, he failed to seek to amend his pleadings until September 4  over a month later and within nineteen days of the scheduled trial. Having known these additional facts for over a month, the failure to seek to amend until less than three weeks before trial was not prompt. See Natural Mother v. Paternal Aunt, 583 So.2d 614, 617 (Miss. 1991) (holding that party must exercise due diligence in filing [motion] to amend). The circuit judge did not abuse his discretion in denying James' motion to amend as untimely. Moreover, the motion to amend failed to state a claim. The conversation between Drs. Hassell and Hollingshead and their attorney occurred on August 25, 1987, i.e. shortly after suit was filed and more than eight years after the alleged malpractice. At the time of the conversation, the doctors claimed that they thought Judy had received Pitocin during her labor, and they were merely instructing their attorney on the normal procedures for its administration. The transcript itself contains no indication that the doctors and their attorney had a scheme to deliberately misrepresent the facts of the case. At trial Dr. Hassell stated that he had a conversation with his attorney on August 25, 1987, and had assumed Judy was given Pitocin during labor. After reviewing the records, however, Dr. Hassell stated that, while he could not be certain, he did not believe Judy had received Pitocin before delivery. Dr. Hollingshead also testified that, at the time of the August, 1987, conversation with their attorney, he had assumed Pitocin had been administered, but that he and Dr. Hassell later concluded it was probably not given. Consequently, James' claim of a deliberate attempt to misrepresent the facts lacks any foundation. The most that can be said is that at the time of the conversation between the doctors and their attorney, the physicians could not recall with any certainty the events leading up to James' birth. However, before their depositions were taken and before trial, the doctors reviewed the medical records dealing with James' birth and came to the conclusion that their initial impressions had been incorrect. At best, the conversation with the attorney was a contradictory statement which could have been  and was  used to impeach the credibility of the physicians. There is simply no indication in the transcript of the August 1987 conversation from which any reasonable person could conclude that there was a scheme to commit fraud. See Grantham v. Mississippi Dept. of Corrections, 522 So.2d 219, 221 (Miss. 1988) (holding that claim should be dismissed if it appears beyond doubt that plaintiff could not prove facts to support his claim). Besides the factual frailties contained in James' motion to amend, it is also doubtful that the claim he sought to assert was legally cognizable. In essence, plaintiff sought to hold the doctors and the insurance company liable for perjured statements they made during the doctors' depositions. Although this Court has failed to address this issue previously, several other states have refused to allow a civil suit for damages suffered as a result of perjury. See e.g. Regal Marble, Inc. v. Drexel Investments, 568 So.2d 1281, 1282-83 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1990); Lawson v. Hensley, 712 S.W.2d 369, 370 (Ky.App. 1986); John Allan Co. v. Brandow, 59 Ill. App.2d 328, 207 N.E.2d 339, 342 (Ill. App. 1965); Brewer v. Carolina Coach Co., 253 N.C. 257, 116 S.E.2d 725, 727-28 (1960); W.G. Platts, Inc. v. Platts, 73 Wash.2d 434, 438 P.2d 867, 871-72 (1968). In the opinion of the courts which have taken this position, no civil action may be based upon perjured testimony due to the fact that such testimony is absolutely privileged. Regal Marble, 568 So.2d at 1282-83. This Court has long recognized the absolute privilege that is attached to relevant statements made during the course of judicial proceedings. Gunter v. Reeves, 198 Miss. 31, 21 So.2d 468 (1945); Verner v. Verner, 64 Miss. 321, 1 So. 479 (1887). In order to facilitate the policy concerns supporting the privilege  namely to encourage open and honest communication  we adopt the position of our sister states by finding that no civil action may be based upon perjured testimony.