A Plaintiff was allowed to file an Amended Complaint alleging recklessness in a motor vehicle accident case based upon facts that came to light in discovery in the Federal Eastern District Court case of White v. Bush, No. 20-2059-KSM (E.D. Pa. June 3, 2021 Marston, J.).
According to the Opinion, the case arose out of an accident during which a freightliner allegedly ran a red light and caused a collision with the Plaintiff's vehicle.
Earlier in the case, the parties had entered a stipulation for the removal of allegations of recklessness from the Complaint.
During the course of discovery, it was revealed that there were deficiencies in the hiring practices and the training practices of the defendant company. Evidence was also revealed regarding the criminal history of the driver and regarding other accidents the driver had been involved in.
The Plaintiff filed a Motion for Leave of Court to file a Second Amended Complaint to include allegations of recklessness against the Defendant-driver and the Defendant trucking company. The Plaintiff also sought to add a claim of Negligent Hiring and/or Reckless Hiring/Supervision/Retention against the Defendant trucking company.
After reviewing the law of amendments under F.R.C.P. 15 and 16(b) and after finding that the proposed amendments in the Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint supported allegations of recklessness and/or claims for punitive damages, the court granted the Plaintiff's motion after finding that the Plaintiff showed good cause to allow for the amendment and after finding that the allowance of the amendment would not be a futile effort.
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