Questions on Amendment

1. Let's say that you have failed to put a disfavored R. 12 defense (such as lack of personal jurisdiction) into your pre-answer motion. Can you use R. 15 amendment as a matter of course to avoid waiver? Can you use R. 15 amendment by leave of the court to avoid waiver? Let's say that you leave the disfavored defense out of your answer (and you submitted no pre-answer motion). Can you avoid waiver by R. 15 amendment as a matter of course? Can you avoid waiver by R. 15 amendment by leave of the court? (This question requires that you look at R. 12 as well.)

2. Is your disfavored defense waived in the following scenario? You leave it out of your answer (you submitted no pre-answer motion), a reply to your answer is requested by the plaintiff and is allowed by the court, you amend your answer 30 days after you served it on the plaintiff, and after you serve your amended answer, the plaintiff serves his reply on you.

3. A judge is supposed to allow an amendment "when justice so requires." When would justice not require amendment?

4. What's the difference between a supplemental pleading and an amendment?

Questions on Blair v. Durham

5. Consider the court's understanding of the "conduct, transaction, or occurrence" test for relation back in Blair v. Durham. Is it right? What understanding would you recommend in its place?

6. Given the court's understanding of the "conduct, transaction, or occurrence" test, would relation back be allowed if the plaintiff had amended to add a contract theory of liability to her tort theory?

7. P sues D for negligent manufacturing because the product he bought blew up in his face. After the statute of limitations ran, he amended his complaint to allege a breach of the warranty as well, since the warranty said "Our products will not blow up." Relation back under Blair v. Durham?

8. P sues D for negligent manufacturing because the product he bought blew up in his face. After the statute of limitations ran, he amended his complaint to allege negligent hiring of workers – in particular the hiring of an employee with a criminal record for maliciously putting bombs in products. Relation back under Blair v. Durham?

Questions on Ford v. Hill

9. Why were the claims on behalf of Ford Jr. not barred by the statute of limitations?

10. Be careful to distinguish between why the claims by the parents against Provence fail and why their claims against Hill and Crafton fail.

11. At what point were Hill and Crafton aware that they were the defendants in the suit? Shouldn't this mean that relation back should be allowed?

<>12. Could Provence have known that he was a defendant before amendment of the complaint?

13. P sues an individual doing business under the name of "Malibou Dude Ranch." After the limitations period has run P discovers that the owner of the business is"Malibou Dude Ranch, Inc.," a corporation, and that the individual was merely the corporation's agent, who was competent to receive service on behalf of the corporation. P amends his complaint to make Malibou Dude Ranch Inc. the defendant. Relation back?