California OAH special education order · October 12, 2022
Order Granting Motion to Amend Complaint and Determining Original Notice of Insufficiency Moot
OAH Case No. 2022090723 · ALJ Tiffany Gilmartin
OAH let Student amend the complaint over Mt. Diablo's objection, treating the amended complaint as its own motion because it was complete, filed quickly, and filed more than five days before hearing.
Summary
Student filed an amended complaint without a formal motion to amend, after Mt. Diablo had filed a notice of insufficiency against the original complaint. Mt. Diablo opposed and filed a second notice of insufficiency. OAH treated the amended complaint as both the motion and the proposed amendment and granted it, because it was complete, filed shortly after the original, and timely under the five-day rule. All timelines reset as of the order date, and the first notice of insufficiency became moot. OAH will rule on the challenge to the amended complaint's sufficiency in a separate order.
Why it matters
Parents can usually fix pleading problems by amending early, which moots the district's first insufficiency challenge. OAH warned that a formal motion to amend should be filed along with the amended complaint, and amending restarts all hearing timelines.
Key authority cited
- 20 U.S.C. § 1415(c)(2)(E)(i)
- 20 U.S.C. § 1415(c)(2)(E)(ii)
Topics
Full text of the order
Published text of the OAH order. Page headers and numbers from the original PDF have been dropped.
BEFORE THE
OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE HEARINGS
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
IN THE MATTER OF:
PARENTS ON BEHALF OF STUDENT,
v.
MT. DIABLO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT.
OAH CASE NUMBER 2022090723
ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO AMEND COMPLAINT
AND DETERMINING ORIGINIAL NOTICE OF
INSUFFICIENCY MOOT
OCTOBER 12, 2022
On September 22, 2022, Student filed a Due Process Hearing Request, referred to as a complaint, with the Office of Administrative Hearings, naming Mt. Diablo Unified School District. The Office of Administrative Hearings is referred to as OAH. On October 7, 2022, Mt. Diablo filed a notice of insufficiency to Student’s complaint. Before a sufficiency determination could be made, Student filed an amended complaint on October 11, 2022. Mt. Diablo opposed Student’s motion to amend on October 12, 2022, and also filed a second notice of insufficiency to the amended complaint. Mt. Diablo argued the amended complaint failed to comport with the pleading requirements under the IDEA. The arguments raised by Mt. Diablo in its opposition essentially challenge the sufficiency of the amended complaint. That motion will be ruled on in a separate order.
An amended complaint may be filed when the other party consents in writing and is given the opportunity to resolve the complaint through a resolution session, or when the hearing officer grants permission. The hearing officer may grant permission at any time more than five days before the due process hearing. (20 U.S.C.
§1415(c)(2)(E)(i).) The filing of an amended complaint restarts the applicable timelines for the due process hearing. (20 U.S.C. §1415(c)(2)(E)(ii).)
Mt. Diablo is correct that Student failed to file a formal motion along with Student’s proposed amended complaint. Student is on notice that a motion to amend should be filed with the accompanying amended complaint. However, Student submitted a complete amended complaint setting forth all claims at issue in this matter.
Additionally, the amended complaint was filed shortly after the initial filing. For the purposes of this case, the amended complaint shall be deemed both a motion and a proposed amended complaint. The motion to amend was filed more than five days prior to the due process hearing. Therefore, it is timely and is granted. The amended complaint shall be deemed filed on the date of this order. All applicable timelines shall be reset as of the date of this order. OAH will issue a scheduling order with the new dates.
Granting Student’s motion to amend renders Mt. Diablo’s initial notice of insufficiency moot as to the original complaint.
IT IS SO ORDERED.
Tiffany Gilmartin Tiffany Gilmartin Administrative Law Judge Office of Administrative Hearings