A primary judge assessing a late application to amend pleadings to join new parties and introduce a new cause of action is entitled to consider the reasons for delay, prejudice to existing defendants from likely trial adjournment, and the strength of the proposed new claim on the pleaded facts. A complaint about the weight given to a relevant consideration does not constitute appellable error unless it amounts to a failure to exercise the discretion entrusted to the court. Additional evidence on appeal is irrelevant where the primary judge's assessment of the strength of a proposed claim was based on the pleaded facts rather than the existence or absence of evidence to prove those facts.
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