Is there a reason I would have to modify (change) a document?
You may need to modify a document that you’ve filed with the Court because it has an incorrect statement in it or because you’ve learned additional information since you filed the document. Civil Rule 15 tells you when and how documents, sometimes called pleadings, can be changed. This rule may be hard to understand, and you may need to ask an attorney for help so you follow the rule properly.

Civil Rule 15A tells a party the process to use to change or amend a pleading. A pleading is another name for documents that make claims in a case. Pleadings include the:

• Complaint
• Counterclaim
• Cross-claim
• Third-party complaint.

Rule 15A lets you amend a pleading one time before the serving of a responsive pleading or a document that responds to the claims in the case (an answer or reply).

What do I do to amend a responsive pleading?
If you want to amend a responsive pleading that has been served, the other party must agree in writing to let you amend your pleading, or the court must give you permission to amend the pleading.

For example, you may file a complaint that alleges the defendant was negligent in causing a car accident because the defendant was speeding. You later find out that the defendant ran a red light, which caused the collision, so you might seek to amend your complaint to change or add the claim that the defendant was negligent by failing to observe a traffic control device and that negligence caused the accident.

Another Civil Rule, number 15B, lets a party amend a pleading to conform to the evidence. In other words, the rule lets you change a complaint or answer so that it raises issues that weren’t raised in the original pleading.

For example, if evidence about the defendant running a red light is objected to at trial – because that fact was not raised in the pleadings – the Court may allow the plaintiff to go back and amend the pleadings or take other measures to allow the objecting party to respond to such evidence.

Civil Rule 15C makes amendments relate back to the date of the original pleading. This means that when a claim or defense is added by the amended pleading, and when that claim or defense arises out of the conduct or events set forth in the original pleading, it is as if the added claim or defense was made at the time of the original pleading. This is important to prevent the other party from claiming that an additional claim is barred because the deadline has passed to make the added claim. This deadline is called a statute of limitations. This may also be important if the amendment adds another person as a party to the lawsuit.

What if I don't know the other party's name?
When a party’s name is unknown, the original pleadings are filed without the party’s name; Civil Rule 15D lets you amend those pleadings later, when the person’s identity is known. The plaintiff must state in the complaint that the name could not be discovered at that time, and the summons must contain the words “name unknown,” and a copy must be served personally on the defendant when you locate the defendant.

Finally, you can let the Court know about events that have occurred after a complaint has been filed by filing supplemental pleadings under Civil Rule 15E. These events must be relevant to the complaint and should be part of the lawsuit. You must make a motion to the Court to ask permission to file a supplemental pleading. The Court may require the other party to respond to the supplemental pleading, just as the party has responded to the original pleading.

This content was created by the Ohio State Bar Foundation's 2006 Fellows Class - Keys to the Courtroom Project.