Opinion ID: 2291751
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Conspiracy Theory

Text: Plaintiffs next contend that the Superior Court erred in denying the plaintiffs an amendment to their complaint to include a claim for conspiracy under section 1983. Plaintiffs sought to prove that the defendants concealed facts of Szelenyi's alleged prior malpractice and facts surrounding Mrs. Miller's death. None of the pleadings contain facts indicating such a conspiracy. Although plaintiffs had filed their complaint 32 months earlier, the conspiracy theory was first brought to the trial court's attention just eight days prior to trial. [16] We review the court's decision to exclude the conspiracy issue for an abuse of discretion under M.R.Civ.P. 15(a). Hamor v. Maine Coast Memorial Hosp., 483 A.2d 718, 720 (Me.1984). To overturn a denial of leave to amend one must demonstrate a clear and manifest abuse of that discretion and must demonstrate granting such motion is necessary to prevent injustice. Poulette v. Herbert C. Haynes, Inc., 347 A.2d 596, 598 (Me.1975). The imminence of the trial was by itself sufficient justification for denial of the motion. Hamor, 483 A.2d at 720. The plaintiffs' argument that no amendment to their pleadings was necessary because conspiracy is not a separate cause of action under section 1983 must also fail. A conspiracy under section 1983 requires at least minimum factual support in the pleadings. Francis-Sobel v. University of Maine, 597 F.2d 15, 17 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 949, 100 S.Ct. 421, 62 L.Ed.2d 319 (1979); Slotnick v. Staviskey, 560 F.2d 31, 33 (1st Cir.1977), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 1077, 98 S.Ct. 1268, 55 L.Ed.2d 783 (1978). Here, the pleadings contain no such facts. The court was well within its discretion in excluding the conspiracy issue from the case.