If a lawsuit is filed and one side wants to amend it by interlineation, can the judge amend the document and place it in the file or must the lawyer for that party amend it and file it?
1 Answer
Usually, the person filing a document would ask for permission to amend something and file a substitute document, but it generally wouldn't be anything improper about a judge interlineating an amendment with the permission of, or at the request of a party, particularly in a limited jurisdiction court or where the party was not represented by counsel.
A judge rare does this in a general jurisdiction court that is authorized to hear claims for large dollar amounts, except when an oral request is made on the record during or at the conclusion of a trial to amend a complaint to conform to evidence that was admitted at trial without objection as to its relevance. This is most often done when the name of a party is incorrect in the complaint.
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1or, in cases where the counsel switches, switching the word "former counsel" in for "counsel" when necessary in a filing that arrived right after it.– TrishCommented Oct 18, 2022 at 5:45