Board of Trustees of Leland Stanford Junior University v. Superior Court

I. INTRODUCTION

Real party in interest Brian J. Umana fell from his dormitory loft bed on February 15, 2003, when he was a sophomore living on campus at petitioner Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University (Stanford). Exactly two years after the date of his fall, he filed a personal injury complaint in propria persona alleging that he had sustained a serious head injury in the fall due to Stanford’s negligence. When Brian’s deposition was taken by Stanford’s attorney, Brian admitted that he had not actually signed the complaint and that his father, John Umana, had signed the complaint in Brian’s name at Brian’s request.

Stanford subsequently filed a motion for summary judgment, contending that Brian’s action was barred by the two-year statute of limitations (Code Civ. Proc., § 335.1) because a valid complaint signed by either the plaintiff or the plaintiff’s California-licensed attorney, as required by section 446, had not been filed during the limitations period. Brian immediately filed a motion for leave to file a first amended complaint that was signed by his attorney.

The trial court granted the motion for leave to file a first amended complaint…