Leader

The demurrers of defendants and respondents Health Industries of America, Inc., et al. (defendants) to the third amended complaint of plaintiffs and appellants William Leader and Leader Psychiatric Medical Group (plaintiffs) were sustained with leave to amend. Plaintiffs did not file a fourth amended complaint within the time specified by the court. More than a month later plaintiffs’ counsel arrived at a status conference with a proposed fourth amended complaint. The trial court advised counsel plaintiffs would be required to make a motion for leave before the amended complaint would be accepted for filing.

Plaintiffs moved for leave to file the amended pleading, relying on the provision of Code of Civil Procedure section 473, subdivision (b) that mandates relief for dismissals entered as a result of an attorney’s “mistake, inadvertence, surprise or neglect.” (§ 473, subd. (b).) Counsel declared the amended complaint had not been timely filed because he had misplaced client documents containing information necessary to remedy the pleading deficiencies which led to the sustaining of the demurrers. Counsel considered it “futile” to ask for more time to plead if he could…