Can a plaintiff in a motor vehicle personal injury action take action against the driver of the vehicle involved in the collision, if the original complaint does not name the driver?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from Dieckmann v. Superior Court, 175 Cal.App.3d 345, 220 Cal.Rptr. 602 (Cal. App. 1985):

Similarly, Stephens v. Berry, supra, 249 Cal.App.2d 474, 57 Cal.Rptr. 505, involved an automobile personal injury action where the original complaint failed to name the driver of the car that rear-ended plaintiff and named only the driver of another car into which the collision pushed plaintiff's car. The holding was simply that the submitted evidentiary facts demonstrated that plaintiff had actual personal knowledge, prior to commencing his action, of the true name and tortious conduct of the driver of the car that struck him and thus could not take advantage of section 474, which is available only to plaintiffs who do not, in fact, have such knowledge.

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