The court cannot effectively manage the case until all of the parties are before it and
subject to its orders. It is therefore important that finite time limits be sent for
bringing the parties before the court.
The appearance of parties named as defendants or cross-defendants can be controlled by
vigorously enforcing the delay reduction provisions contained in this court's local Rule
7.7. The plaintiffs should be required to serve all named defendants within 60 days after
the complaint is filed or to show cause why any unserved defendants should not be
dismissed. (Local Rule 7.7(a)(1)). All cross-complaints should be required to served named
cross-defendants within 30 days after the cross-complaint is filed, or show cause why any
unserved cross-defendant should not be dismissed (Local Rule 7.7(a)(2)). The parties
should not be permitted to stipulate to extend the time to plead to any complaint or
cross-complaint for more than fifteen days without obtaining leave of court. (Local Rule
7.7(a)(3)). Once the time to plead to complaint or cross-complaint has expired, the
plaintiff or cross-complainant should be required to enter the default of the
non-appearing party within 45 days or show cause why that party should not be dismissed.
(Local Rule 7.7(a)(4)).
In multi-party cases, cross complaints tend to breed further cross complaints, new parties
keep being added, and the court is precluded from effectively managing the case because
each new party complains that it has not been permitted to participate in discovery and
does not have enough time to prepare for trial. Effective case management therefore
requires that the court limit the time period during which new parties may be added to the
case.
The adding of new parties by amendment to a complaint or cross-complaint can be controlled
by the imposition of a cut-off date beyond which no new party can be added without a
specific showing of good cause as to why that party could not have been joined earlier.
Such an order warns the parties that the traditional "liberality" in permitting
amendments will not extend to the adding of new parties after the cut-off date.
The adding of new parties by filing cross-complaints can be controlled by setting a trial
date early, even if the means that the trial date is many months away. Code of Civil
Procedure section 428.50(b) permits a party to file a third party cross-complaint at any
time before the court has set a date for trial. Once a trial date has been set, a party
must obtain a leave of court before filing such a cross-complaint (Code Civ. Proc., §
428.50(c)), and the court may inquire as to why the new party was not brought in earlier.
Adding new parties by "DOE amendments" (Code Civ. Proc., § 474) may be
controlled y enforcing the requirements that the pleader be genuinely ignorant of the
defendant's identity when the pleading is filed (see Weil & Brown, § 6:438),
and that the complaint or cross-complaint contain charging allegations against the DOE
defendant (see Weil & Brown, § 6:60).
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