Misik

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff Thomas Misik appeals from an order denying his motion to amend the jhdgment to add defendant Thomas R. D’Arco to the judgment as a judgment debtor. The judgment had found Sayrahan Group, LLC (Sayrahan), liable for breach of contract. The motion to amend the judgment relied on the alter ego doctrine to argue that the trial court should find that D’Arco was the alter ego of Sayrahan and should hold D’Arco liable for the judgment. The trial court appears to have denied the motion to amend the judgment because it erroneously believed that procedural grounds precluded it from ruling on *1069 that motion. We hold that Code of Civil Procedure section 187 authorizes a trial court to amend a judgment to add a judgment debtor who is found to be an alter ego of a corporate defendant. The alter ego doctrine does not require proof of fraud, and can be satisfied by evidence that adherence to the fiction of the separate existence of the corporation would promote injustice. Finally, a plaintiff’s failure to allege the alter ego doctrine in the underlying lawsuit does not preclude a motion to amend the judgment. We reverse the order denying the motion to amend the…