Right To Amend Narrows Over Time

TOORAK

CAPITAL SERVICING COMPANY, LLC

(a) Facts

Case: Toorak Capital Partners LLC v. Capital Servicing Company LLC and Traci Shawn Williams, Florida Second District Court of Appeal, Case No. 2D2023-0158 (opinion accessible at 2dca.flcourts.gov).
Parties: Appellant Toorak (lender); Appellees Capital (borrower) and Ms. Williams (guarantor).
What Happened: Toorak sued Capital and Ms. Williams in 2022 to recover under a 2019 promissory note, mortgage, and guaranty after a missed balloon payment. Defendants claimed loan modifications extended the due date, denying default. Toorak admitted three extensions but disputed a fourth as unfinalized, yet didn’t reply to the defense or amend its complaint initially. At trial, Toorak’s motion to amend was denied; the court found no default and ruled for defendants.
Judgment: Final judgment favored Capital and Ms. Williams; Toorak appealed.

(b) Issues

Did the trial court abuse its discretion by denying Toorak’s motion to amend its complaint late in the trial?
Were defendants in default under the loan terms, considering the disputed extensions?

The Second District Court of Appeal affirmed the lower court, holding no abuse of discretion in denying Toorak’s amendment and upholding the judgment for defendants.

(d) Rationale

Florida policy narrows amendment options as trial nears (the “late-in-the-game” rule); Toorak had chances to reply or amend earlier but didn’t.
Evidence showed four loan extensions, and the trial court’s finding that defendants weren’t in default was supported by competent, substantial evidence.
The unamended complaint governed the case; Toorak’s failure to plead the extensions’ terms doomed its claim.

(e) Comments

Toorak’s procedural laziness feels like the real loser here—waiting until trial to fix the complaint is bold, but the court’s “nope, too late” stance tracks with fairness. The extensions muddied the default question, and Toorak’s half-hearted dispute of the fourth one didn’t help. Solid call by the DCA, though it’s a reminder: plead your case right or don’t bother.

The link (hopefully) may be found below: