Judge: Kerry Bensinger, Case: 20STCV43962, Date: 2023-01-20 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 20STCV43962    Hearing Date: January 20, 2023    Dept: 27

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES - CENTRAL DISTRICT

On November 17, 2020, Plaintiff Steadfast Insurance Company (“Plaintiff”) filed a complaint against Defendant Jesus Delgado Hernandez (“Defendant”) for subrogation.

On May 17, 2022, the Court ordered dismissal of the action after neither party appeared at the Non-Jury Trial on May 17, 2022.

On September 15, 2022, Plaintiff filed a motion to set aside/vacate the dismissal.

“The court may, upon any terms as may be just, relieve a party or his or her legal representative from a judgment, dismissal, order, or other proceeding taken against him or her through his or her mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.”  (Code of Civ. Proc., § 473, subd. (b).)  Application for this relief shall be made within a reasonable time, in no case exceeding six months, after judgment, dismissal, order, or proceeding was taken.  (Ibid.)  “[T]he court shall, whenever an application for relief is made no more than six months after entry of judgment, is in proper form, and is accompanied by an attorney’s sworn affidavit attesting to his or her mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or neglect, vacate any (1) resulting default entered by the clerk against his or her client, and which will result in entry of a default judgment, or (2) resulting default judgment or dismissal entered against his or her client, unless the court finds that the default or dismissal was not in fact caused by the attorney’s mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or neglect.”  (Ibid.) 

Plaintiff’s counsel states that he mis-calendared the May 17, 2022 trial. As a result of Plaintiff’s counsel’s inadvertence, the case was dismissed. (Tapper Decl. ¶ 2.)

This Motion to set aside dismissal was timely filed four months after dismissal and the Court finds dismissal was due to counsel’s mistake and inadvertence. The Motion to set aside the May 17, 2022 dismissal is GRANTED.

Moving party to give notice.

Parties who intend to submit on this tentative must send an email to the Court at SSCDEPT27@lacourt.org indicating intention to submit on the tentative as directed by the instructions provided on the court website at www.lacourt.org.  Please be advised that if you submit on the tentative and elect not to appear at the hearing, the opposing party may nevertheless appear at the hearing and argue the matter.  Unless you receive a submission from all other parties in the matter, you should assume that others might appear at the hearing to argue.  If the Court does not receive emails from the parties indicating submission on this tentative ruling and there are no appearances at the hearing, the Court may, at its discretion, adopt the tentative as the final order or place the motion off calendar.

Dated this 20^th day of January 2023