• An amended pleading often relates back to the date when the original pleading was filed. Thus, a plaintiff may add claims to a suit without facing a statute-of-limitations bar, as long as the original pleading was filed in time to satisfy the statute. But if the amended pleading adds a claim that arises out of a different transaction or occurrence, or out of different alleged conduct, the amendment does not relate back to the date when the original pleading was filed. Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(c).
new cause of action
A claim not arising out of or relating to the conduct, occurrence, or transaction contained in the original pleading.
