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TRIMBLE v. ENGELKING6/5/1997
ents. See I.R.C.P. 1(a) ("These rules shall be liberally construed to secure the just, speedy and inexpensive determination of every action and proceeding."). The courts can resolve more fairly problems stemming from improperly named defendants by applying I.R.C.P. 15(c). We thus decline to adopt the nullity rule in Idaho and hold that, where a party has been named improperly, amendment and
relation back should be allowed where the requirements of I.R.C.P. 15(c) are met.
IV.
I.R.C.P. 15(c)
We interpret the district court's decision dismissing the complaint and denying Trimble's motion to amend as based on the nullity theory, which we decline to adopt. It must therefore be determined whether Trimble met the requirements of I.R.C.P. 15(c) for amendment of the complaint and relation back to the date of the original filing. The decision to grant or deny a party's motion to amend a pleading is left to the trial court's discretion, and we will not reverse such a ruling absent an abuse of this discretion. Jones v. Watson, 98 Idaho 606, 610, 570 P.2d 284, 288 (1977). While the court below did discuss Rule 15(c) in its decision, we conclude that it did not fully explore its exercise of discretion under that Rule. We thus remand for a consideration of whether Trimble has met the requirements of Rule 15(c).
V.
CONCLUSION
We hold that I.C. ยง 15-3-803 does not authorize a plaintiff to bring a cause of action directly against a decedent. We further decline to adopt the nullity theory in Idaho and hold that, where a party has been named improperly, amendment and relation back shall be allowed where the requirements of I.R.C.P. 15(c) are met. We thus vacate the district court's order dismissing Trimble's complaint and remand for a determination of whether he has met the requirements of I.R.C.P. 15(c), which would allow amendment of the complaint to include the Estate as defendant and relation back to the date of the original filing.
JOHNSON, McDEVITT, SILAK and SCHROEDER, JJ., concur.
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