MANDAMUS & DISMISSAL - EX PARTE ALFA MUT. INS. CO.
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By
Cunningham Bounds LLC
Ex parte Alfa Mut. Ins. Co., [Ms. 1141038, June 10, 2016] __ So. 3d __ (Ala. 2016). "A writ of
mandamus ... will issue to correct a trial court's ruling regarding
the amendment of pleadings ... when it is shown that the trial court has
exceeded its discretion." Ms. *9, quoting
Ex parte Liberty National Life Ins. Co., 858 So. 2d 950, 952 (Ala. 2003). Here, Alfa sought a petition for a writ
of mandamus directing the St. Clair Circuit Court to vacate its order
denying Alfa's motion to strike an amended complaint. The Court grants
the petition and directs the circuit court to vacate its order denying
Alfa's motion to strike and to instead enter an order granting that
motion and striking the amended complaint. The Court finds that the attempted
amendment filed two years after the original complaint was filed, based
upon facts and evidence known to the plaintiffs at the time of the filing
of the original complaint, and which occurred after the death of the only
material witness with personal knowledge about the facts and circumstances
placed in issue by the purported amendment, amounted to "undue delay"
and was prejudicial to Alfa such that the circuit court exceeded its discretion
in permitting the amendment under authority of
Ex parte DePaola, 46 So. 3d 884 (Ala. 2010);
Blackmon v. Nexity Financial Corp., 953 So. 2d 1180 (Ala. 2006); and
Ex parte Liberty Nat'l Life Ins. Co., 858 So. 2d 950 (Ala. 2003).
