Court documents reflecting incorrect or missing information may be amended after they are issued. Everyone makes mistakes, even clerks and judges. There could be a typo or new information may come to light in your case, making it necessary to amend the complaint you have filed. Normally, if a fact is not raised in the original complaint in a lawsuit, the court will not allow you to argue the issue at trial. However, amending the court document can alleviate this problem.
Open the court document you wish to amend in your word processor. You should have saved this document in your files. You will be filing the same document you are amending with some changes.
Add the changes you want the document to reflect. You can change amounts of money owed if you made a mistake in the original document or if new damages have arose from the original complaint that has cost you more out-of-pocket. You may add witnesses and other parties to the complaint that you were unable to find or were unavailable at time of your complaint.
Read More: How to Amend a Legal Document
Enter a new paragraph in the beginning of your document. This paragraph should state that the document should be amended to reflect whatever changes you have added. For instance, if the amount owed has changed, your first paragraph should read, "This complaint is amended to reflect the correct amount of total damages due to the plaintiff." If you have filed the lawsuit, you are the plaintiff. The person answering the lawsuit is the defendant.
File your amended court document in the court handling your case. The judge may allow the other party to dispute the amended parts of the document by filing a response to your amended court document.
Warnings
- You cannot amend a court document you did not file. You may ask the other party to amend his document.
Tips
- Check with the clerk to ensure that you are within any time limits the court may have in amending documents.
Tips
- Check with the clerk to ensure that you are within any time limits the court may have in amending documents.
Warnings
- You cannot amend a court document you did not file. You may ask the other party to amend his document.
Writer Bio
Maria Lassen has many years experience in the legal field. She was a practicing hair and nail technician for 10 years and has been a freelance writer since 2010. Lassen studied creative writing at Bowling Green State University and holds a certificate in paralegal studies.