Source: https://casetext.com/case/san-ramon-valley-unified-v-wheatley-jacobsen
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 06:40:39+00:00

Document:
Appeal from Superior Court of Contra Costa County, No. 182141, Martin E. Rothenberg, Judge.
Richard Godino, Celia Ruiz and Breon, Galgani, Godino O'Donnell for Plaintiff and Appellant.
Danial J. McNamara, John Fioretta, McNamara, Houston, Dodge, McClure Ney, Joel Shawn and Richard M. Marx for Defendant and Respondent.
On December 6, 1982, the superior court for Contra Costa County granted respondent Wheatley-Jacobsen, Inc.'s motion to dismiss the case brought against it by appellant San Ramon Valley Unified School District. Appellant contends that the order of dismissal should be reversed because the trial court abused its discretion. We reject this contention and affirm the judgment.
On December 30, 1977, appellant filed a complaint against the general contractor (Wheatley-Jacobsen, Inc., hereafter respondents), architects, soil engineers and surety company who were involved in the construction of a high school gymnasium for appellant. The complaint alleged breach of contract for deficient architectural work, deficient engineering, and deficient construction and sought damages and declaratory relief.
On March 20, 1978, the defendant architects filed a motion asking the court to order arbitration and to stay the proceedings against them. On April 11, 1978, the trial court ordered arbitration between appellant and defendant architects and stayed the proceedings as to the architects. The arbitration proceedings did not commence until June 1982. The arbitration resulted in a settlement between appellant and defendant architects on November 8, 1982. The only action appellant took in prosecuting its claim against the remaining defendants was one request to produce documents and four depositions.
On November 9, 1982, more than four years and ten months after filing the original complaint, appellant moved to specially set the case for trial. On November 17, 1982, respondent filed a motion pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 583, subdivision (a), to dismiss the case for failure to bring the action to trial within two years. On November 23, 1982, the trial court granted the motion to dismiss, rendering the motion to specially set the case for trial moot. Appellant then filed its notice of appeal.
Unless otherwise indicated, all statutory references are to the Code of Civil Procedure. These dismissal sections were renumbered and reorganized by Statutes 1984, chapter 1705 and appear now in sections 583.110-583.410.
Because appellant moved to specially set the case for trial within five years of filing the complaint, we are not concerned here with the mandatory dismissal provision of section 583, subdivision (b). The only issue on appeal is whether the trial court abused its discretion in dismissing appellant's action for want of prosecution pursuant to section 583, subdivision (a). (1a) Before deciding this issue we must first determine the level of appellate scrutiny to be applied in reviewing a trial court's order of dismissal made pursuant to section 583, subdivision (a).
In the 1983 case of Wilson v. Sunshine Meat Liquor Co. (1983) 34 Cal.3d 554 [ 194 Cal.Rptr. 773, 669 P.2d 9], the Supreme Court discussed the standards that apply in reviewing motions to specially set a case for trial and motions to dismiss for lack of prosecution. (2) The high court, citing Beswick v. Palo Verde Hospital Assn. (1961) 188 Cal.App.2d 254 [ 10 Cal.Rptr. 314], held that the action of a court in passing upon a motion for early and preferential trial setting "`is tantamount to action upon a motion to dismiss for failure to prosecute within the two-year period prescribed by section 583 of the Code of Civil Procedure; in each instance the motion is addressed to its sound legal discretion; the motivating factors in the exercise of that discretion would be pertinent to both motions; and its decision "will be disturbed only in cases of manifest abuse."'" ( Wilson v. Sunshine Meat Liquor Co., supra, 34 Cal.3d at p. 561, italics added, original italics omitted.) (1b) We read the last part of this sentence to mean that an appellate court should give the trial court's ruling on these motions substantial deference.
(4b) Here, as in Sunshine Meat, the record supports the trial court's decision. The declarations established that over a four-year ten-month period, the only pretrial discovery that appellant pursued with respect to the nonarchitect defendants was one request to produce documents and four depositions. The fact that appellant was participating in arbitration proceedings with the architects does not excuse its lack of diligence in prosecuting its case against the other defendants. Given the nature and complexity of the case, it would have been unjust to require respondents to prepare for trial in less than two months when appellant had the benefit of information learned through the arbitration proceedings to which respondents were neither invited, nor about which were they briefed. While appellant is correct in asserting that the trial court could have required appellant to fully disclose all information regarding the case to respondents as a condition of denying the 583, subdivision (a), motion, the prejudice in forcing respondents to trial on such quick and unexpected notice would still exist. Moreover, there is ample evidence in the record to support the trial court's ruling, and thus appellant has failed to affirmatively show error.
Respondents' notice of motion and motion to dismiss for failure to bring action to trial within two years discusses the facts relative to each of the criteria enumerated in the rule: (1) over four years from answers by all defendants to plaintiffs at-issue memorandum; (2) settlement discussions only with architects (reached Nov. 8, 1982, for $65,000); (3) a lack of diligence by plaintiff in pursuing very limited discovery in the four years ten months prior to its motion to set specially (only a motion to produce and four depositions, no interrogatories, no request for admissions and no request for nor disclosure of experts); (4) the complex nature of the case (multiple parties, cross actions by general contractor against sub-contractors, the damages claimed based on said movement involving alleged architectural, engineering, soil evaluation and constructional negligence); (5) the complexity of the law applicable to the case (nine separate affirmative defenses); (6) the delay is solely attributable to plaintiff; and (7) the crowded condition of the court's calendar due to "recent crush of criminal litigation" makes a shortage of departments for this 10-day trial.
In addition to the factors listed in California Rules of Court, rule 373(e), recent cases have also considered both the prejudice to the defendant that results from the plaintiff's failure to diligently prosecute the action and any excuse offered by the plaintiff to explain his lack of diligence. ( Wilson v. Sunshine Meat Liquor Co., supra, 34 Cal.3d 554; Hocharian v. Superior Court (1981) 28 Cal.3d 714 [ 170 Cal.Rptr. 790, 621 P.2d 829]; Sanborn v. Chronicle Pub. Co. (1976) 18 Cal.3d 406 [ 134 Cal.Rptr. 402, 556 P.2d 764]; Denham v. Superior Court (1970) 2 Cal.3d 557 [ 86 Cal.Rptr. 65, 468 P.2d 193].) Because of the conflict between the underlying policy of section 583, subdivision (a), to promote due diligence on the part of the plaintiff and the policy favoring resolution of disputes by a trial on the merits, it is not clear which, if any, party has the burden of proof on a section 583, subdivision (a), motion.
(6) In our view the only consistent reading of these four Supreme Court cases is that section 583, subdivision (a), places a burden on the defendant to show that a dismissal is warranted through a showing of some prejudice or the presence of factors enumerated in the California Rules of Court which when viewed together militate in favor of dismissal, and that when such a showing has been made, the burden shifts to the plaintiff to show excusable delay. (4c) In applying this standard to the case at bar we find support for the judgment. Here, as in Sunshine Meat, respondents have convincingly shown that the California Rules of Court criteria speak in favor of their dismissal and that they have been prejudiced. Appellant, on the other hand, has utterly failed to excuse his delay in waiting over four years and ten months to file his application for order shortening time and motion to specially set case for trial.
No reason for delay is cited in appellant's declaration in support of motion to specially set case for trial filed November 9, 1982, other than a recitation that the complaint was filed December 30, 1977, and that pursuant to section 583, subdivision (b), "[t]his action must be brought to trial before December 30, 1982. . . ."
The only facts that could possibly be construed as a reason for excusable delay are found in the memorandum of points and authorities in support of motion to specially set case for trial. That document recites the court ordered arbitration between appellant and the architects and incorrectly implies that these (i.e., complaint against the general contractor, architects, soils engineer and surety) were all stayed pending resolution of these arbitration proceedings.
Upon consideration of the factors listed in the California Rules of Court and the standards enunciated by the Supreme Court, we do not find that the superior court abused its discretion in granting respondents' motion to dismiss pursuant to section 583, subdivision (a).
Poche, J., and Sabraw, J., concurred.

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