Grudt v. City of Los Angeles

In Grudt v. City of Los Angeles (1970) 2 Cal.3d 575, a widow filed an action against a city on the theory of respondeat superior for the wrongful death of her husband at the hands of two city police officers. After the statute had run, she amended her complaint to allege the city's negligence in employing the officers. Although the amendment "added a significant new dimension to the lawsuit" ( id. at pp. 583-584), the Supreme Court applied the rule of Austin v. Massachusetts Bonding & Insurance Co. (1961) to allow relation back. "Both counts in the amended complaint . . . recite the same acts by the officers as the gravamen of the action, and recovery is sought in both counts to compensate plaintiff for the loss of her husband." ( Id. at p. 584.)