Magistrate Judge Beckerman Allows Plaintiff’s Motion to Amend to Include a Prayer for Punitive Damages

In her opinion dated July 9, 2025, (view opinion here), Judge Stacie Beckerman granted plaintiffs’ motion for leave to amend to include a prayer for punitive damages. Judge Beckerman’s opinion acknowledges that punitive damages can be available to remedy a homeowners insurance provider’s violations of the duty of care it owes to all of its Oregon policyholders pursuant to Or. Rev. Stat. § 746.230(1).

Plaintiffs Ari and Micah Hoffman own a home in Portland that suffered significant damage during the historic winter storm of January 2024. Four months after the loss, plaintiffs filed an action against their property insurer USAA in Multnomah County Circuit Court. Plaintiffs’ state-court complaint included an express allegation that the plaintiffs planned to amend their complaint to include a prayer for punitive damages. USAA removed the action to federal court.

Approximately ten months later, plaintiffs timely filed a Federal Civil Procedure Rule 15 motion to amend their pleading to include a prayer for punitive damages. Defendant opposed the motion, arguing: (1) futility; (2) prejudice; (3) undue delay; and (4) bad faith. See Foman v. Davis, 371 U.S. 178, 182 (1962). Judge Beckerman found that “the Foman factors were in plaintiffs’ favor,” and granted plaintiffs’ motion to amend. See Jensen v. Brown, 131 F.4th 677, 701 (9th Cir. 2025) (Rule 15(a)’s policy should be applied with “extreme liberality”).