Brown

Stuart L. Brown and Stuart L. Brown, M.D., Inc. (Brown) seek extraordinary relief after the court granted Anne Elizabeth Bengs’s (Bengs) motion to (1) amend the complaint to include punitive damages in her professional negligence claim against Brown and (2) permit discovery of Brown’s financial condition. We initially denied Brown’s petition by order dated June 5, 1990. At the direction of the California Supreme Court, we vacated the order, stayed proceedings, and issued the alternative writ.

We are asked to interpret the language of Code of Civil Procedure section 425.13, subdivision (a), specifically whether the wording prohibiting amendment “not less than nine months before the date the matter is first set for trial” means nine months before the trial setting conference, or nine months before the initial trial date.

Factual and Procedural Background

Bengs filed a complaint for professional malpractice against psychiatrist Brown on January 24, 1989. At a trial setting conference on September 1, 1989, the court set trial for August 1, 1990.

On March 26, 1990, Bengs filed a motion to amend the complaint, adding claims for punitive damages (Civ. Code, § 3294),…