Opinion ID: 1895852
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Denial of Simmons' Motion For Leave to File Amended Response and Counterclaim

Text: On March 21, 1990, by their Agreed Order, the parties were directed to file any additional claims or counterclaims prior to any further hearing on this matter by the court; otherwise, such claims would be considered barred. On September 26, 1990, Thompson filed its motion for summary judgment and a hearing was set for November 2, 1990. On November 2, 1990, Simmons filed a motion to amend his response and counterclaim. Copies of the amended pleadings were delivered to Thompson's attorney on the evening of November 1, 1990. The motion for leave to amend was subsequently denied by the lower court as untimely. Simmons argues that his request for leave to amend should have been granted since justice so required and there had been no suggestion of undue prejudice toward Thompson. Thompson, on the other hand, claims that the motion to amend came much too late. Motions for leave to amend are left to the trial judge's sound discretion. McDonald v. Holmes, 595 So.2d 434, 436 (Miss. 1992); Bourn v. Tomlinson Interest, Inc., 456 So.2d 747, 749 (Miss. 1984). Proposed amendments have been liberally permitted throughout Mississippi legal history and are encouraged under Miss.R.Civ.P. Rule 15; however, [u]nless we are convinced that the trial judge abused his [judicial] discretion, we are without authority to reverse. Parker v. Mississippi Game and Fish Commission, 555 So.2d 725, 730 (Miss. 1989). Miss.R.Civ.P. 15(a) provides, inter alia, that leave [to amend] shall be freely given when justice so requires. Simmons points to the Comment to Rule 15 which states, in its pertinent parts, that [i]n practice, an amendment should be denied only if the amendment would cause actual prejudice to the opposite party. (Emphasis added). No prejudice has been demonstrated, or even alleged, in the case at bar. In Red Enterprises, Inc. v. Peashooter, Inc., 455 So.2d 793, 795 (Miss. 1984), quoting from Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182, 83 S.Ct. 227, 230, 9 L.Ed.2d 222, 226 (1962), this Court defined the contours of Rule 15(a) as follows: Rule 15(a) declares that leave to amend shall be freely given when justice so requires; this mandate is to be heeded ... [I]f the underlying facts or circumstances relied upon by the plaintiff may be a proper subject of relief, he ought to be afforded an opportunity to test his claim on the merits. In the absence of any apparent or declared reason  such as... undue prejudice to the opposing party by virtue of allowance of the amendment, futility of the amendment, etc.  the leave should, as the rules require, be freely given. [emphasis added]. [S]ince attorneys sometimes fail to write perfect pleadings, it is necessary that courts permit liberal amendments of the pleadings in order to reach the actual merits of a controversy. William Iselin and Company, Inc. v. Delta Auction and Real Estate Company, 433 So.2d 911, 913 (Miss. 1983). The trial judge abused his judicial discretion in the case sub judice by not granting Simmons' motion to amend and refine his pleadings. Notwithstanding the lateness of the hour, the motion for leave to amend was filed within the time frame permitted by the Agreed Order entered by the court on March 21, 1990, which stated in plain and ordinary English [t]hat the parties are hereby Ordered to file any additional claims or counter-claims concerning said equipment, prior to any further hearing on this matter by the Court. Moreover, the motion to amend did not alter the gist of Simmons' allegations which involved fraud and misrepresentation; rather, it merely set forth the cause of action with more specificity in order to clarify the issues. Finally, neither Thompson nor the trial court identified any undue prejudice toward Thompson in the event the motion to amend was granted. In the final analysis, we hold that under the facts of this case, Simmons should have been granted leave to file his proposed amended response and counterclaim.