Pleading Amendment Too Late

Hyde v. GACP Fin. Co., LLC reversed a $1.7 million judgment because of a pleading-amendment problem. The Fifth Court found that the trial court erred by allowing GACP to amend its petition during trial, to argue for the first time that it sought damages as an agent on behalf of another entity, rather than its own damages. The Court said:  “Fair notice is not notice to dig deeper to determine the parties’ claims and damages,” and detailed why GACP’s second amended petition did not give adequate notice of the agency relationship it later claimed.

As a fallback, GACP argued that this challenge failed for lack of a special exception or a verified denial. The Court held that appellants were justified in relying on the second amended petition (which didn’t assert agency), and that the appellants had no reason to file a verified denial about capacity when the relevant agency claim wasn’t in the pleading in the first place. The Court concluded that the appellants timely raised the capacity issue as soon as it became apparent at trial. No. 05-23-00873-CV, Oct. 24, 2024 (mem. op.).