- Court: Oregon Court of Appeals
- Area(s) of Law: Civil Procedure
- Date Filed: 06-27-2012
- Case #: A147059
- Judge(s)/Court Below: Hadlock, J. for the Court: Ortega, P. J.; and Sercombe, J.
Appellant Peggy Worthington (Worthington) appealed the trial court’s dismissal of her civil lawsuit. In 2007, Worthington's vehicle was hit by a vehicle driven by Milton Davis (Davis). Worthington filed a civil lawsuit against Davis on the day before the two year statute of limitations expired. A few weeks later, Worthington amended the complaint to include the estate of Davis and the personal representative of Davis’ estate. The trial court dismissed Worthington’s claim due to a failure to file the claim within the two year statute of limitations. Worthington appealed, arguing that the omission of naming Davis’ estate et al was a misnomer that misnamed the original parties; therefore, Davis' claim could be amended back to the original complaint date. The Court of Appeals rejected Worthington's argument, holding that the omission of the above named parties constituted a misidentification of the parties, thereby changing the party against whom the claim was being made. Hence, the complaint did not relate to the initial complaint. Affirmed.