Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania
Undue Prejudice?
What does this mean, in Webster dictionary, not Black's:
''Although leave to amend shall be freely given when justice so requires, a motion to amend may
be denied on numerous grounds such as undue delay, undue prejudice to the defendants, and futility
of the amendment.''
If you could especially clarify the undue prejudice to the defendant part, I would appreciate it! Thank you!
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Undue Prejudice?
It doesn't mean that the amendment hurts the defendant, per se. Naturally, plaintiffs will want to amend the complaint because they think it will give them an advantage, like adding a claim they hadn't thought of before.
Prejudice means that the defendant is harmed by the DELAY. As in, the defendant has an unfair disadvantage in defending against the changed claim, because of the time that has passed from the original pleading. For instance, if evidence that he could have collected, if the claim had been stated at the beginning, is no longer available.
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