Trujillo v. Ametek, Inc., 3:15-cv-01394

Plaintiffs (guardians for minors and an individual) sued Ametek, Senior Operations, LLC and DOE defendants for injuries related to environmental contamination; case removed to federal court.
Plaintiffs filed a First Amended Complaint; after motions to dismiss, the Court permitted certain claims to proceed.
Plaintiffs moved for leave to file a Second Amended Complaint to substitute Thomas Deeney for DOE 1 based on testimony from Deeney’s December 2016 deposition implicating him in ignoring regulatory notices and contributing to the alleged harm.
Ametek opposed amendment, arguing plaintiffs unduly delayed, had prior access to the relevant documents and Deeney’s role, acted in bad faith to gain tactical advantage, amendment would prejudice defendants, and the amendment would be futile due to potential indemnity issues.
The Court applied Rule 15(a) and the Foman factors (undue delay, bad faith, prejudice, repeated failures, futility) and found none weighed against amendment.
Court granted leave to file the proposed Second Amended Complaint because discovery had not yet begun, prejudice was minimal, and the deposition revealed new, substantive facts supporting individual liability against Deeney.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Undue delay	Deeney’s December 2016 deposition revealed new facts showing direct liability	Plaintiffs had sufficient information earlier (administrative record, prior deposition, Rule 26 disclosures)	No undue delay — deposition revealed different, substantive facts than earlier records
Failure to cure / prior knowledge	Plaintiffs lacked the specific admissions until Dec. 2016 deposition	Plaintiffs could have pleaded these facts in earlier amendments	No repeated failure; facts supporting amendment arose after prior amendment
Bad faith / ulterior motive	Amendment based on deposition admissions, not tactical gamesmanship	Amendment is tactical to gain advantage in related Greenfield case and late in discovery	No bad faith; no Rule 16 scheduling order or discovery begun here, speculative tactical motive rejected
Prejudice to defendants	Minimal; discovery not yet opened here, substitution is limited	Addition of Deeney near close of discovery in related case will impose burdens, costs, delays	No undue prejudice; positions won’t materially change and discovery equal for all parties
Futility	Amendment could state viable claims against Deeney based on deposition admissions	Claims may be redundant because Ametek could indemnify Deeney	Not futile; sufficient possibility that discovery will support individual claims; futility better assessed post-amendment

Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178 (1962) (Rule 15(a) leave to amend should be freely given when justice requires)
DCD Programs Ltd. v. Leighton, 833 F.2d 183 (9th Cir. 1987) (federal policy favors disposition on the merits and liberal amendment)
Int’l Ass’n of Machinists & Aerospace Workers v. Republic Airlines, 761 F.2d 1386 (9th Cir. 1985) (granting leave to amend rests in district court discretion)
Eminence Capital, LLC v. Aspeon, Inc., 316 F.3d 1048 (9th Cir. 2003) (presumption in favor of amendment absent prejudice)
Miller v. Rykoff-Sexton, Inc., 845 F.2d 209 (9th Cir. 1988) (futility standard: amendment futile only if no set of facts would constitute a valid claim)
Chodos v. West Publ’g Co., 292 F.3d 992 (9th Cir. 2002) (denial of leave warranted where plaintiff knew necessary facts before prior amendment)
AmerisourceBergen Corp. v. Dialysist W., Inc., 465 F.3d 946 (9th Cir. 2006) (undue delay inquiry asks whether movant knew or should have known the facts/theories earlier)
Jackson v. Bank of Hawaii, 902 F.2d 1385 (9th Cir. 1990) (timeliness assessed by knowledge of facts supporting amendment)
Acri v. Int’l Ass’n of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, 781 F.2d 1393 (9th Cir. 1986) (leave denied where amendment sought to avoid adverse summary judgment and prejudice defendant)
Sorosky v. Burroughs Corp., 826 F.2d 794 (9th Cir. 1987) (denial of leave where plaintiff sought amendment to defeat diversity jurisdiction)