Hawkins v. Pacific Coast Bldg. Products, Inc., 124 Cal. App. 4th 1497 (2004)

In his racial harassment and discrimination lawsuit against his former employer, Leroy Hawkins erroneously identified the employer (Pacific Coast) as "Basalite Corporation," a variation of its fictitious business name, "Basalite." Pacific Coast moved to quash service of the complaint on the ground that Hawkins had failed properly to designate the company as a defendant. The trial court granted Pacific Coast’s motion to quash and then granted Hawkins’s motion to amend his complaint to designate Pacific Coast as a defendant. Pacific Coast then successfully demurred to the amended complaint on the ground that Hawkins had failed to timely file his claims against Pacific Coast. The Court of Appeal reversed the trial court’s dismissal of Hawkins’s discrimination and harassment claims on the ground that those claims related back to the timely filing of the original claims against "Basalite Corporation." However, the Court affirmed dismissal of Hawkins’s contract claims on the ground that they were already time barred when he filed his original complaint.