Court Opinion

ID: 9854549
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 06:09:04.46498+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:23:08.843335
License: Public Domain

Deen, Presiding Judge,
dissenting.
If ever a case demonstrated that justice is blind, this is it, consid*653ering the majority opinion’s denial of the apparent conflict of authority on the issue of relation back of amendments adding a party. Perhaps the majority opinion considers it “the prerogative of a lofty mind not only to enlighten by its wisdom but to enslave by its authority.” McLin v. Harvey, 8 Ga. App. 360, 363 (69 SE 123) (1910). When conflicting lines of authority exist, the ball is in our court to call time and rectify our mistakes.
That this court has applied conflicting rules with regard to the relation back of amendments changing and adding parties, there would appear to be no doubt. Admittedly, in most cases this court has applied the relation back provision of OCGA § 9-11-15 (c) to amendments adding a party. See Sam Finley, Inc. v. Interstate Fire Ins. Co., 135 Ga. App. 14 (217 SE2d 358) (1975); Maelstrom Properties v. Holden, 158 Ga. App. 345 (280 SE2d 383) (1981); Horne v. Carswell, 167 Ga. App. 229 (306 SE2d 94) (1983); Dover Place Apts. v. A & M Plumbing &c. Co., 167 Ga. App. 732 (307 SE2d 530) (1983); Bil-Jax, Inc. v. Scott, 183 Ga. App. 516 (359 SE2d 362) (1987); Rose v. Kosilla, 185 Ga. App. 217 (363 SE2d 623) (1987).
However, in A. H. Robins Co. v. Sullivan, 136 Ga. App. 533 (221 SE2d 697) (1975), this court held that the addition of a new party who is altogether a stranger to the original suit is not contemplated by the relation back provision of OCGA § 9-11-15 (c). In Coley Elec. Supply v. Colonial Eggs of Alma, 165 Ga. App. 108, 109 (299 SE2d 165) (1983), this court found that the amendment adding “the development authority was not the substitution or change of a party, but was the addition of another defendant to the action, therefore, the initiation of the action against the development authority must be viewed as occurring at the time the development authority was added as a party defendant and not as relating back to the time of the original complaint.” Further, in Beaver v. Steinichen, 182 Ga. App. 303, 304 (355 SE2d 698) (1987), this court held that “[t]he amendments to add these parties do not relate back to the original suit under OCGA § 9-11-15 (c) because they are not a change of parties but amount to the commencement of the action as to new defendants ...”
By a strained and contorted reading of A. H. Robins, the majority opinion is able to jerk that case back in line with the cases that apply the relation back provision to amendments adding parties. The majority opinion similarly attempts to explain away Coley Elec. Supply v. Colonial Eggs of Alma and Beaver v. Steinichen, by describing them as “simply cases wherein all of the necessary elements of OCGA § 9-11-15 (c) for the addition of a new party were not satisfied.” In reality, however, those preconditions for relating back had absolutely no bearing in either case, and one has only to read the cases to discern that.
The majority opinion’s evolving esoteric equation or Orwellian *654observation that no conflict ever existed in the above cases is an efficacious disposition of a problem, but is factually faulty and falls flat as a false premise. This court no doubt has committed its share of errors during the eighty-one years of its existence. That fact is unfortunate and unavoidable, but most of the time in the past this court has acknowledged its mistakes and eaten crow for dessert. See Howard v. Superior Contractors, 180 Ga. App. 68, 72 (348 SE2d 563) (1986). It appears here that the majority opinion has forged a new method: state the rule it prefers and deny the existence of any conflict.
The majority opinion also professes to employ a strict statutory construction of OCGA § 9-11-15 (c). However, only by an ultra liberal construction is OCGA § 9-11-15 (c) applicable to amendments adding a party. That Code section provides that “[a]n amendment changing the party against whom a claim is asserted relates back to the date of the original pleadings if the foregoing provisions are satisfied, and if within the period provided by law for commencing the action against him the party to be brought in by amendment (1) has received such notice of the institution of the action that he will not be prejudiced in maintaining his defense on the merits, and (2) knew or should have known that, but for a mistake concerning the identity of the proper party, the action would have been brought against him.” Strictly read, that section applies only to amendments changing a party. The preconditions for relating back are relevant only where the amendment seeks to change a party. To include “adding a party” within the meaning of “changing the party” goes beyond strict statutory construction; it inappropriately assimilates the two terms.
I note that in other respects the Code and case law have treated amendments adding parties differently from amendments changing parties. Before a party may be added by amendment, for example, leave of court must be granted. OCGA § 9-11-21. The trial court may disallow such an amendment, even though the limitations period has not expired, if the additional party would be prejudiced thereby or if the delay in naming the additional party is inexcusable. Aircraft Radio Systems v. Von Schlegell, 168 Ga. App. 109 (308 SE2d 211) (1983). Amendments changing a party, however, may be filed without leave of court at any time before entry of a pretrial order. OCGA §§ 9-11-15 (a), (c). See Larson v. C. W. Matthews Contracting Co., 182 Ga. App. 356, 357 (1) (356 SE2d 35) (1987), wherein this particular distinction prompted Judge Benham to note that “[t]he substitution or change of a party differs from the addition or deletion of a party.” This distinction between amendments adding parties and amendments changing parties indicates a less open policy in allowing the former. Perhaps this more restrictive policy is based on a general concern over the relative fairness of allowing a party to bring in another *655party (in addition to the original parties) who could have been named originally, compared to situations where an amendment seeks a change to bring in the correct party. Whatever the basis for distinction, however, the legislature differentiated these two types of amendments, and this court has incorrectly removed that difference.
Decided March 18, 1988
Rehearing denied March 31, 1988
Richard W. Fields, for appellant.
James M. Collier, Samuel W. Worthington III, for appellee.
In summary, OCGA § 9-11-15 (c) by its own terms applies to amendments changing a party, and not to amendments adding a party. The cases applying this Code section are conflicting. I would follow the Code section and the case law holding that amendments adding a party do not relate back to the filing of the complaint, and overrule the above-cited cases that hold the contrary.