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West v. Buchanan6/11/1999
he lawsuit until after the limitations period had run.
On September 25, 1995, more than three months later, and thus well after the limitations period had expired, West amended her complaint to substitute Buchanan as the only defendant. West has not explained why her original complaint named William Bembry; when deposed, West testified that she realized on the day of the accident that the driver of Bembry's car was a woman. It is undisputed that Buchanan (and Bembry) did not learn of the lawsuit until after the limitations period expired.
B. The Court's Decision
The court's opinion holds that the amended complaint naming Buchanan, although filed after the statute of limitations had run, was timely because it related back to the timely complaint that named only Bembry. Because notice that Bembry had been sued was received by Bembry and Buchanan after the statute of limitations ran, but within the 120-day period Alaska Civil Rule 4(j) allowed for serving Bembry, the opinion reasons that the service grace period must be included "within the period provided by law for commencing the action," as provided by Alaska Civil Rule 15(c), in deciding whether the action against Buchanan was timely.
C. Alaska Civil Rule 15(c)
A complaint must be filed within the time specified by law, usually by the applicable statute of limitations adopted by the legislature. Absent exceptions not applicable here, an amended complaint filed after the limitations statute has run is untimely and must be dismissed unless the requirements of Alaska Civil Rule 15(c) are met. If they are met, the amended complaint relates back to the date when the original complaint was filed.
In this case, West timely commenced suit against the wrong defendant; she attempted to sue the right defendant only after the statute had run. Rule 15(c) treats this type of amendment differently from an amendment that simply changes the claims. "Rule 15(c)['s] requirements are strictly construed when the amendment adds a new defendant." Rule 15(c) requires that Buchanan have received, "within the period provided by law for commencing the action," notice that the action had been instituted.
The opinion defines this period to include the time set by the applicable statute of limitations plus the 120-day service grace period provided by Rule 4(j).
There are two main problems with this analysis. First, it is contrary to our Civil Rules, particularly Rule 15(c). Our rules distinguish between commencing an action and serving the defendant. Rule 3 addresses the "commencement" of an action. An action is "commenced" by filing a complaint. Rule 4 deals with process, i.e., serving the complaint. Subsection j of Rule 4 sets the time within which the plaintiff must serve a timely filed complaint on the defendant; it does not enlarge the time for commencing an action. Rule 15(c) observes the same distinction in language that mirrors the operative language in Rule 3; the operative language in Rule 4(j) is alien to the part of Rule 15(c) here in issue.
The opinion's reliance on the service grace period conflates the purpose of that period with the doctrine of relation-back. Rule 4(j)'s service grace period sets the time in which the plaintiff must achieve service of a timely filed complaint on a defendant named in the complaint. Rule 15(c)'s doctrine of relation-back enlarges the time for correcting the name of the defendant if the proper defendant has received, within the limitations -- not service -- period, notice that suit was filed. The service grace period assumes a timely complaint; it does not enlarge the time for filing a timely complaint. Our decision today, howev
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