Craig

DISCUSSION

Plaintiff Samuel C. Craig, Jr. sued the estate of his father’s widow and several members of her family alleging intentional interference with expected inheritance, constructive trust, fraud, and conversion in connection with the

probate of his deceased father’s will.1 The trial court dismissed the lawsuit after finding it was duplicative of a prior lawsuit Craig filed concerning the same subject matter (Super. Ct. No. 37–2015–00010184–CU–MC–CTL). In the prior lawsuit, the trial court rendered judgment against Craig because his claims were time-barred—a judgment this court affirmed on appeal. (Craig v. Cardona (Feb. 8, 2018, D070310) [nonpub. opn.].) Craig appeals the judgment of dismissal. He contends the trial court erred by failing to give him proper notice and an opportunity to contest whether the present lawsuit is in fact duplicative of the prior lawsuit. Additionally, he argues he requested leave to amend the complaint and the trial court erred by denying his alleged amendment request. Defendants Francisco Cardona, Santa Cardona, and Eva Lopez filed a respondent’s brief and the remaining defendants did not do so. We do not treat the failure to file a…