WHEN IS AMENDMENT OF COMPLAINT A MATTER OF RIGHT?

Question: Can a complaint still be amended as a matter of right before an answer has been filed, even if there was a pending proceeding for its dismissal before the higher court?

Answer: Yes. This was the issue raised and resolved in the case of REMINGTON INDUSTRIAL SALES CORPORATION vs. COURT OF APPEALS, G.R. No. 133657, May 29,2002. It was held that:

Section 2, Rule 10 of the Revised Rules of Court explicitly states that a pleading may be amended as a matter of right before a responsive pleading is served. This only means that prior to the filing of an Answer, the plaintiff has the absolute right to amend the complaint whether a new cause of action or change in theory is introduced. The reason for this rule is implied in the subsequent Section 3 of Rule 10.  Under this provision, substantial amendment of the complaint is not allowed without leave of court after an answer has been served, because any material change in the allegations contained in the complaint could prejudice the rights of the defendant who has already set up his defense in the answer.

Conversely, it cannot be said that the defendant’s rights have been violated by changes made in the complaint if he has yet to file an answer thereto. In such an event, the defendant has not presented any defense that can be altered or affected by the amendment of the complaint in accordance with Section 2 of Rule 10. The defendant still retains the unqualified opportunity to address the allegations against him by properly setting up his defense in the answer. Considerable leeway is thus given to the plaintiff to amend his complaint once, as a matter of right, prior to the filing of an answer by the defendant.

The right granted to the plaintiff under procedural law to amend the complaint before an answer has been served is not precluded by the filing of a motion to dismiss or any other proceeding contesting its sufficiency. Were we to conclude otherwise, the right to amend a pleading under Section 2, Rule 10 will be rendered nugatory and ineffectual, since all that a defendant has to do to foreclose this remedial right is to challenge the adequacy of the complaint before he files an answer.

Moreover, amendment of pleadings is favored and should be liberally allowed in the furtherance of justice in order to determine every case as far as possible on its merits without regard to technicalities. This principle is generally recognized to speed up trial and save party litigants from incurring unnecessary expense, so that a full hearing on the merits of every case may be had and multiplicity of suits avoided.

Question: Is amendment of complaint still a matter of right when other defendants have already filed their Answers?

 Answer: Yes. As held in the same case of REMINGTON, “the fact that the other defendants below have filed their answers to the complaint does not bar petitioner’s right to amend the complaint as against respondent. Indeed, where some but not all the defendants have answered, the plaintiff may still amend its complaint once, as a matter of right, in respect to claims asserted solely against the non-answering defendant, but not as to claims asserted against the other defendants.”