New CA Torts Case: Can the date of a childhood sexual assault be amended after the complaint is filed?

New California Torts Case

Can the date of a childhood sexual assault be amended after the complaint is filed?

The Court of Appeal decided this issue last month. Here is my one-paragraph case summary from my online publication California Case Summaries™: 

S.C. v. Doe 1 (2025) _ Cal.App.5th _ , 2025 WL *******: The Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s order denying plaintiff’s motion for leave to amend her complaint alleging childhood sexual assault, and it’s order granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment. Plaintiff originally alleged that the sexual assault occurred in 1981 when she was in foster care. Once her counsel received her juvenile record, it was clear that plaintiff was first placed in foster care in 1984. The trial court denied plaintiff’s motion for leave to amend her complaint and granted summary judgment for Doe 1, concluding that the complaint could not be amended under Code of Civil Procedure former section 340.1 because of its certificate-of-merit requirement. The Court of Appeal disagreed, concluding that the statute did not bar amendments under Code of Civil Procedure section 473(a)(1), the trial court abused its discretion in denying the motion to amend and summary judgment was therefore improper. (C.A. 5th, October 17, 2025.)

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