Judge: Mark E. Windham, Case: 21STCV43535, Date: 2024-01-09 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 21STCV43535    Hearing Date: April 8, 2024    Dept: 26

Miller v. Shadravan, et al.

MOTION TO VACATE JUDGMENT AND ENTER NEW JUDGMENT

(CCP § 663)

TENTATIVE RULING:

Plaintiff Iam Miller’s Motion to Vacate Judgment is DENIED.

ANALYSIS:

Plaintiff Iam Miller (“Plaintiff”), in propria persona, filed this action against Defendant Sasan Shadravan (“Defendant”), on November 29, 2021. The action was originally filed in the unlimited civil court and then reclassified as a limited civil case on June 29, 2023. (Minute Order, 06/29/23.)

The action came for trial on February 20, 2024, at which time Plaintiff presented their evidence. (Minute Order, 02/20/24.) The Court then granted Defendant’s oral motion for nonsuit pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 581, subdivision (b) and entered judgment accordingly. (Ibid.) Notice of the entry of judgment was mailed to both parties on the same date. (Certificate of Mailing, 02/20/24.)

On March 12, 2024, the Court denied Plaintiff’s Motion for Leave to Amend Continuance. (Minute Order, 03/12/24.) Plaintiff then filed the instant Motion to Vacate Judgment on March 13, 2024. No opposition has been filed.

Discussion

The Motion to Vacate Judgment is brought pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure sections 663 and 663a, which state in relevant part:

A party intending to make a motion to set aside and vacate a judgment, as described in Section 663, shall file with the clerk and serve upon the adverse party a notice of his or her intention, designating the grounds upon which the motion will be made, and specifying the particulars in which the legal basis for the decision is not consistent with or supported by the facts, or in which the judgment or decree is not consistent with the special verdict, either:

(1) After the decision is rendered and before the entry of judgment.

(2) Within 15 days of the date of mailing of notice of entry of judgment by the clerk of the court pursuant to Section 664.5, or service upon him or her by any party of written notice of entry of judgment, or within 180 days after the entry of judgment, whichever is earliest.

(Code Civ. Proc., § 663a.) First, the instant Motion is not timely. Notice of entry of judgment was mailed to the parties on February 20, 2024. 15 days thereafter was March 6, 2024, however, the instant Motion was not filed or served until March 14, 2024. (Proof of Service, filed 03/14/24.) The 15-day deadline is jurisdictional and cannot be extended by the Court. (Advanced Building Maintenance v. State Comp. Ins. Fund (1996) 49 Cal.App.4th 1388, 1394.)

On the merits, the Motion fails to demonstrate that the legal basis for the decision is not consistent with or supported by the facts. Instead, Plaintiff argues that the Court (1) was wrong to deny him a trial by jury; (2) lacked subject matter jurisdiction over the case; and (3) offered legal advice to Defendant. None of these grounds pertains to the legal basis for the decision.

Accordingly, Plaintiff’s Motion to Vacate Judgment is denied.

Conclusion

Plaintiff Iam Miller’s Motion to Vacate Judgment is DENIED.

Court clerk to give notice.