Opinion ID: 2598394
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Denial of Motion to Amend Pleadings

Text: [¶ 11] In his first issue on appeal, Ekberg asserts that under the circumstances where he had tendered $82,000.00 under the purchase option and had been denied access to the real property, it was an abuse of discretion for the trial court to refuse to allow him to amend his complaint so that he could claim all his legal damages. Specifically, Ekberg argues that the first time he received official notice that he had a right to enter the real property as of September 15, 2001, was when the district court granted partial summary judgment on June 24, 2002. Accordingly, he contends that this marked the first day in which he could have been able to fathom he possessed a claim of damages as asserted in his proposed second amended complaint for loss of business income and loss of use of enjoyment of the property. In addition, Ekberg argues that less than two weeks after receiving such notice and less than a week after Sharp filed his amended answer and counterclaim, he filed his motion for leave to file the second amended complaint. [¶ 12] Wyoming Rule of Civil Procedure 15 addresses amendment of pleadings. That rule provides, in applicable part (emphasis added): (a) Amendments. A party may amend the party's pleading once as a matter of course at any time before a responsive pleading is served, or if the pleading is one to which no responsive pleading is permitted and the action has not been placed upon the trial calendar, the party may so amend it at any time within 20 days after it is served. Otherwise a party may amend the party's pleading only by leave of court or by written consent of the adverse party; and leave shall be freely given when justice so requires .... (b) Amendments to Conform to the Evidence. When issues not raised by the pleadings are tried by express or implied consent of the parties, they shall be treated in all respects as if they had been raised in the pleadings. Such amendment of the pleadings as may be necessary to cause them to conform to the evidence and to raise these issues may be made upon motion of any party at any time, even after judgment; but failure so to amend does not affect the result of the trial of these issues. If evidence is objected to at the trial on the ground that it is not within the issues made by the pleadings, the court may allow the pleadings to be amended and shall do so freely when the presentation of the merits of the action will be subserved thereby and the objecting party fails to satisfy the court that the admission of such evidence would prejudice the party in maintaining the party's action or defense upon the merits. The court may grant a continuance to enable the objecting party to meet such evidence. Wyoming Rule of Civil Procedure 16 is also applicable in this instance as the district court set particular deadlines in this matter. That rule authorizes the district court to set certain dates, including the setting of pretrial conferences, deadlines for pretrial motions, and deadlines for the completion of discovery and to address any other appropriate matters. The objectives of the rule are to allow the district court to expedite the disposition of actions, establish early and continuing control over actions, and facilitate settlement of the case. In addition, under this rule, the dates set by the district court may not be modified except upon a showing of good cause. See also Carroll v. Bergen, 2002 WY 166, ¶ 20, 57 P.3d 1209 (recognizing that adherence to scheduling orders is critical in maintaining the integrity of judicial proceedings; that pretrial orders control the issues to be litigated, allowing the parties to rely on the pretrial order exhibit and witness lists to prepare their cases; and holding that the trial court is vested with extensive authority to enforce such pretrial orders). [¶ 13] The facts in this matter establish that Ekberg sought to amend his complaint for the second time on July 10, 2002, after the discovery cut-off deadline of July 1, 2002, had passed and only shortly before the scheduled trial date of August 9, 2002. As indicated previously, the district court scheduled these dates in a scheduling conference held on January 11, 2002. Therefore, Ekberg had sufficient notice of these dates. [¶ 14] Moreover, Ekberg provided the district court with no explanation of why he could not have made the additional amendments to his pleadings much earlier. Ekberg contends that he could not have envisioned requesting damages for loss of business income and loss of use of enjoyment of the property until the district court issued its order granting partial summary judgment on June 24, 2002. We do not believe this to be the case. Clearly as early as October 1, 2001, the date Ekberg filed his original complaint seeking to enforce the purchase option or in any event on at least March 15, 2002, the date Ekberg was given permission to file his first amended complaint, he should have contemplated the damages which reasonably flow from his asserted breach of contract claim. [¶ 15] Additionally, allowing a last minute amendment to Ekberg's complaint after the discovery cut-off date and just a few weeks before trial would have caused Sharp both undue prejudice and delay. Allowing the amendment to occur, in essence, would have allowed Ekberg to raise additional claims for damages, occasioning the need for significantly more discovery and substantial delay in the proceedings. Accordingly, Ekberg's efforts to bring additional last minute theories for loss of business income and loss of use of enjoyment of the property damages may be characterized as unfair, unjust, and prejudicial to Sharp. As such, we hold that Ekberg failed to show good cause for his motion to amend under either W.R.C.P. 15 or 16. We hold, therefore, that the district court did not abuse its discretion when it denied Ekberg's motion to amend his complaint a second time.