Judge: Lynne M. Hobbs, Case: 22STCV37057, Date: 2023-10-13 Tentative Ruling
Case Number: 22STCV37057 Hearing Date: October 13, 2023 Dept: 30
ROSE ANN BUSTAMANTE vs ESTHER BRAVO, et al.
22STCV37057
Motion to Set Aside / Vacate Dismissal
TENTATIVE
Plaintiff’s motion to set aside the dismissal entered on April 27, 2023 is granted. Moving party is ordered to give notice.
DISCUSSION
Plaintiff presents the declaration of her counsel, Andrew Echavarria (“Echavarria”) in support of the motion. Echavarria declares that: (1) himself, along with the staff at the Law Office of F. Javier Trujillo Inc., had been experiencing problems with their computers including its internet connection, outlook e-mails, and its calendar throughout the months of March and April (Echavarria Decl., ¶ 1); (2) the IT tech person for the office has been in several times to fix said problems (Id.); (3) as the handling attorney in this case, he relied solely on his electronic calendar for court hearings, appointments, and deadlines (Id.); and (4) due to technological problems, the OSC hearing re: dismissal for failure to enter default was not on the calendar for April 27, 2023.
Initially, the Court finds that Plaintiff’s motion is timely as it was filed within six months after dismissal. Plaintiff has made a showing that the failure to appear at the April 27, 2023 OSC was due to the inadvertence of counsel to calendar the matter due to technological issues. The Court therefore finds that Plaintiff has made a showing warranting mandatory relief from dismissal pursuant to SJP Limited Partnership v. City of Los Angeles, supra, 136 Cal.App.4th 511, 516. Also, given that the motion is unopposed, there is an inference that the motion has merit under Sexton v. Superior Court (1997) 58 Cal.App.4th 1403, 1410.
As to the issue of payment of reasonable compensatory fees and costs to opposing parties, Defendants have not filed an answer in this action. The Court exercises its discretion and declines to impose any penalties against Plaintiff or Plaintiff’s attorney pursuant to Code Civ. Proc. § 473(c).