Opinion ID: 1197904
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: refusal to allow amendment of failure to rehire claim

Text: In Count III of her Complaint, Foster alleged a breach of her employment contract by wrongful termination. In their motion for partial summary judgment, the defendants argued that Foster had been properly laid off, and therefore, no claim of wrongful termination could lie. In response, Foster filed a motion to amend her complaint with allegations that if Foster was not employed during the renovation, and therefore, could not claim wrongful termination, Shore Lodge and the individual defendants would be liable for wrongful failure to re-hire pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 1981. The district court concluded that factual issues exist as to whether Foster was terminated at the time the hotel closed for renovation or whether she continued to have an employment relationship until her December 1990 notification letter, which stated that she would no longer be considered for employment. As a result, the district court refused to grant summary judgment against Foster on the breach of contract claim. In reference to Foster's motion to amend, the district court declared: Foster filed a motion to amend her complaint in the event that the court granted summary judgment dismissing her breach of contract claim against Shore Lodge. Since the court did not grant summary judgment on that issue, the motion to amend is denied. On appeal, Foster claims the district court erred by not allowing amendment. Foster claims she should have been allowed to allege the alternative theory of wrongful failure to re-hire in case the jury concludes she was not employed during the renovation and thus, not wrongfully discharged. The grant or denial of leave to amend a complaint after a responsive pleading has been filed is within the discretion of the trial court, and is subject to reversal on appeal only for an abuse of discretion. E.g., Black Canyon Racquetball v. Idaho First Nat'l. Bank, 119 Idaho 171, 175, 804 P.2d 900, 904 (1991). We find no abuse of discretion here. The motion is unclear because it fails to indicate who are the defendants to the amended complaint, and no amended complaint accompanied the motion. To the extent the amendment is to be against Shore Lodge, we have no jurisdiction, because the district court's Rule 54(b) certificate allowing appeal pertains only to claims asserted against Manchester individually and Torrey Enterprises, Inc. Foster's claims against Shore Lodge remain pending below. The denial of the motion to amend against Shore Lodge is nonfinal and is subject to revision at any time before the entry of judgment adjudicating all the claims and the rights and liabilities of all the parties. I.R.C.P. 54(b). To the extent Foster seeks to amend her claims against Manchester individually, we again perceive no abuse of discretion in the denial of the motion to amend. The district court denied the motion because there is a factual dispute concerning Foster's employment status during the renovation. Finding no abuse of discretion, the denial of the motion to amend is affirmed.