Court Opinion

ID: 9722389
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 09:28:15.981287+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:24:34.806413
License: Public Domain

JOHNSON, J.
I respectfully dissent. I would hold the trial court properly determined Rohrbasser’s cross-complaint in the present action was barred due to the doctrine of res judicata since in his March 4, 1980, motion to vacate the default and set aside the default judgment in the second action, Rohrbasser was not denied the opportunity fully to present all evidence in support of his motion.
I. The Trial Court Properly Granted the Respondent’s Summary Judgment Motion Since the Appellant’s Cross-complaint Was Barred by Collateral Estoppel.
Collateral estoppel bars relitigation of an issue decided at a previous trial if the issue necessarily decided at the previous trial is identical to the one which is sought to be relitigated; if the previous trial resulted in a final judgment on the merits; and if the party against whom collateral estoppel is asserted was a party or in privity with a party at the prior trial. (People v. Taylor (1974) 12 Cal.3d 686, 691 [117 Cal.Rptr. 70, 527 P.2d 622]; Zimmerman v. Stotter (1984) 160 Cal.App.3d 1067, 1075 [207 Cal.Rptr. 108].)
Rohrbasser acknowledges the denial of a motion to vacate can be a bar to a later action brought on the same grounds. Moreover, he recognizes his cross-complaint was based essentially on the same grounds raised in his motion to vacate.1 However, he contends his motion to vacate did not bar his subsequent action since he did not present oral testimony at the hearing on this earlier motion. As the majority discusses, Rohrbasser relies on Darlington v. Basalt Rock Co. (1961) 188 Cal.App.2d 706 [10 Cal.Rptr. 556]; Preston v. Wyoming Pac. Oil Co. (1961) 197 Cal.App.2d 517 [17 Cal.Rptr. 443]; and Rose v. Fuqua (1962) 200 Cal.App.2d 719 [19 Cal.Rptr. 634] in support of this argument.
In Darlington, the plaintiff was severely injured in an automobile accident. His father sought and obtained approval by the trial court of a compromise of the plaintiff’s claim. Almost four years later, the plaintiff filed *302a motion to vacate and set aside the order approving the compromise. He alleged his prior attorneys were negligent in investigating the facts of the collision and they mistakenly assumed his foot injury was not permanent in character. His motion was denied. The trial court’s decision was affirmed on appeal. Two months after the appeal was taken, but before a decision was reached, the plaintiff instituted another action against the driver of the other vehicle, his insurer, and an adjuster for the insurer. He requested the order affirming compromise be vacated, the release rescinded, and judgment for damages be entered. After the appellate decision in the prior action became final, the defendants moved to dismiss this subsequent action. The motion was granted.
The appellate court affirmed. The appellate court stated the issues in the motion to vacate and in the action at bar were identical and thus the question before the court was whether the adverse decision in the first action barred the second. In examining the first proceedings, the court emphasized the trial court did not restrict the plaintiff in presenting his case. In particular, it did not rely solely on affidavits in reaching its decision. The attorney who had represented the plaintiff at the time of the compromise was questioned by both counsel and the court. The court thus concluded the issue was fully litigated and determined by the trial court. As such, the current action was properly barred. (Darlington v. Basalt Rock Co., supra, 188 Cal.App.2d at pp. 709-710.) As the court stated: “We recognize fully that the mere fact that issues might have been raised on the motion does not bar presentation of those issues in a later action if in fact they were not presented on the motion. Nor do we decide that the mere presentation of issues by affidavits supporting a motion is a bar to the later action, if the opportunity to present evidence was withheld in the discretion of the court to which the motion was made. We do hold that detailed presentation of the issues of fraud and mistake on a motion to vacate, with full opportunity at hearing to develop the issues by oral testimony, may bar a subsequent action to set aside the order attacked by the earlier motion.” (Italics added.) (Id., at p. 710.)
In Preston, the plaintiff sought to set aside a default judgment which the defendant recovered against him in a prior action. The trial court sustained a demurrer to the plaintiff’s second amended complaint without leave to amend. A judgment of dismissal was entered and the plaintiff appealed.
The appellate court affirmed the decision ruling the appellant’s current suit was barred by the doctrine of res judicata. The court determined the appellant’s last motion to vacate presented the same issues and the same grounds as his current suit. Moreover, the motion was denied on its merits after the court conducted a full hearing and received all the evidence offered by the appellant. The court also discussed Darlington in detail, finding it *303directly on point. As in Darlington, the appellant was not denied the opportunity fully to present his evidence in support of his motion. (Preston v. Wyoming Pac. Oil Co., supra, 197 Cal.App.2d 517, 524-527.)
In Rose, the appellant filed an action for breach of contract against the respondents. The respondents failed to make an appearance and a default was entered against them. The respondents’ motion to set aside the default was denied. A default judgment was rendered in favor of the appellants. An appellate court affirmed the order and judgment. The respondents subsequently instituted another action requesting the prior judgment be vacated on the basis of extrinsic fraud. The appellants contended, in part, the action was barred by the doctrine of res judicata due to the prior denial of the respondents’ motion to vacate the earlier default judgment. Judgment was entered in favor of the respondents. The appellants appealed, again contending this action was barred by res judicata. The appellants relied on Darlington in support of their position.
The appellate court ruled the denial of the respondents’ motion to vacate the default judgment did not bar the current action. The record only disclosed that the motion to vacate was heard upon affidavits. As such, the respondents did not have a full opportunity at the hearing on this motion to develop the issues by oral testimony. Thus, this earlier action did not have res judicata effect on the subsequent action. (Rose v. Fuqua, supra, 200 Cal.App.2d at p. 724; see also Huff v. Mendoza (1980) 109 Cal.App.3d 677, 680-682 [167 Cal.Rptr. 348].)
In the case at bar, the trial court ruled the above line of cases was inapplicable since Rohrbasser did not bring a timely motion pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 473 but instead requested the default be vacated based on the court’s equitable powers. However, I do not believe the applicability of the principles established in these cases is contingent on such a determination. While it is true in the majority of the cases applying the Darlington principles, a timely section 473 motion had been made, there is no language in these opinions which indicates the courts viewed this as a critical precondition to applying these principles. As an example, in Preston, no timely section 473 motion was made. As the court stated, “It is now well settled in California that one who seeks relief from a judgment against him on the ground that he was deprived of a fair trial through extrinsic factors has a choice of remedies. He may either bring an independent suit in equity, or he may invoke the equitable jurisdiction of the court by means of a motion addressed to the court that rendered the judgment .... [¶]In the case at bar, appellant chose to invoke the equitable jurisdiction of the court by his several motions.” (Preston v. Wyoming Pac. Oil Co., supra, 197 Cal.App.2d at pp. 526, 527; see also 8 Witkin, Cal. Procedure (3d ed. *3041985) Attack On Judgment In Trial Court, § 200, pp. 598-599.) After reaching this conclusion, the court did not determine the principles established in Darlington were inapplicable, but, in applying these principles, determined the prior motions had res judicata effect on the instant action since the appellant had had the opportunity to present fully the evidence in support of his motions. (Ibid.) Thus, this latter determination is the critical one and is made irrespective of whether the motion was brought pursuant to section 473 or pursuant to the court’s equitable powers.
Although I conclude the trial court erred in deeming the cases cited by Rohrbasser inapplicable, I believe summary judgment was still appropriate since Rohrbasser made no showing he was denied the opportunity fully to present all evidence in support of his motion. A trial court decision to grant summary judgment which can be sustained on any theory of the law applicable to the case will not be disturbed on appeal even if the decision was made for the wrong reason. (Folberg v. Clara G. R. Kinney Co. (1980) 104 Cal.App.3d 136, 140 [163 Cal.Rptr. 426]; see also In re Marriage of Jacobs (1982) 128 Cal.App.3d 273, 284 [180 Cal.Rptr. 234].)
As discussed in detail above, in Darlington, the court held the presentation of issues by affidavits alone in a motion to vacate would not bar later action if the trial court in the earlier motion limited the party’s ability to present evidence. (Darlington v. Basalt Rock Co., supra, 188 Cal.App.2d at p. 710.) It is the opportunity fully to present evidence in support of one’s motion which is crucial. (Ibid; accord Preston v. Wyoming Pac. Oil Co., supra, 197 Cal.App.2d at pp. 525-527.) If a party never attempts to expand the scope of the hearing beyond affidavits or declarations, he cannot later contend he was denied the opportunity fully to present his evidence.
Sarten v. Pomatto (1961) 192 Cal.App.2d 288 [13 Cal.Rptr. 588], a case discussed by Rohrbasser, also supports this conclusion. In this case, the appellant contended the trial court’s denial of the respondent’s motion to set aside a default judgment barred the respondent’s subsequent action in equity directed to the same purpose. The court did not resolve this issue since the court could not determine whether the parties had had the opportunity to litigate the issues in a manner commensurate with the litigation options available in an action in equity. The court was unable to determine whether the parties were restricted to proof by affidavit or allowed to supplement by oral testimony. (Id., at pp. 300-301.)
While I recognize trial courts generally decide motions based on evidence presented in the form of affidavits or declarations rather than oral testimony (see rule 206(b) of the Law Departments Policy Manual, Los Angeles Superior Court), as Darlington, Preston, and Rose make apparent, a trial court *305has the discretion to allow oral testimony at a motion of this nature. (See also Skouland v. Skouland (1962) 201 Cal.App.2d 677, 678 [20 Cal.Rptr. 185]; Kallman v. Henderson (1965) 234 Cal.App.2d 91, 97 [44 Cal.Rptr. 108].) Indeed, a trial court must exercise its discretion as to whether to allow oral testimony. It may not as a matter of policy refuse to consider oral testimony on a motion hearing. (See Reifler v. Superior Court (1974) 39 Cal.App.3d 479, 485 [114 Cal.Rptr. 356] [Trial court erred in failing to exercise its discretion to allow oral testimony on party’s motions. The court simply relied on a court policy of precluding the use of oral testimony in family law matters estimated to take up more than one day.]; In re Marriage of Perkal (1978) 77 Cal.App.3d 413, 418-419 [143 Cal.Rptr. 575] [“. . . [T]he ability of the court to exclude oral testimony has as a concomitant the discretion to receive it.” A trial court errs in failing to exercise this discretion.]; Eddy v. Temkin (1985) 167 Cal.App.3d 1115, 1120-1121 [213 Cal.Rptr. 597].)
In the case at bar, Rohrbasser never requested that he be allowed to present oral testimony. In his moving papers, Rohrbasser simply stated the motion would be based on declarations, on the memorandum of points and authorities, and on all the files and records in the matter. Moreover, he made no attempt to expand the scope of his evidentiary presentation at the hearing. As such, it cannot be said the trial court restricted Rohrbasser’s opportunity fully to present evidence since Rohrbasser never challenged the manner in which the court conducted the hearing.
I recognize certain cases can be read to support the argument that if the motion to vacate is based merely on affidavits, then a subsequent, independent action can still be brought even if no request was made in the prior action to present oral testimony. (See Rose v. Fuqua, supra, 200 Cal.App.2d at p. 724; Huffv. Mendoza, supra, 109 Cal.App.3d at pp. 681-682.)2 However, I disagree with these cases to the extent they can be interpreted in this manner. Such a position encourages a party not to present oral testimony at his initial motion, but instead to present all his evidence by affidavit so that in the event this motion is denied, he can later bring an independent action in equity raising once again the very same issues. Such an outcome wastes judicial resources and imposes needless additional expenses and burdens on the opposing party. I support the principle that a party who has been prevented from fully presenting evidence in his motion to vacate should not be precluded from bringing an additional action in which he has the complete opportunity to litigate the matter. However, I believe before that party is *306given another opportunity to raise the same contentions in a subsequent matter, the trial court must have limited his ability to present evidence in the prior proceeding.3

Rohrbasser contends the issue raised in his third cause of action for declaratory relief was not considered by the trial court in ruling on his motion to vacate. In this cause of action, Rohrbasser contended the foreclosure sale of the property owned by Landlord extinguished all or part of the debt owed to Lederer. However, Rohrbasser presented the foreclosure sale issue in his supplemental points and authorities in support of his motion to vacate. He also raised this issue in his appeal from the denial of this motion. Both courts considered and rejected Rohrbasser’s contention. The trial court categorized the foreclosure issue as a potential defense to the underlying action. However, since the court refused to vacate the judgment, the defense was irrelevant.

WhiIe Rose and Huff can be interpreted in this regard, it is not clear from a reading of these cases that the courts intended this result. For instance, Rose cites to Sarten v. Pomatto, supra, 192 Cal.App.2d 288 in discussing the standards to be applied. As discussed earlier, Sartén supports the trial court’s decision reached in the case at bar.

Counter to the majority’s contentions, I do not believe the practical effect of this ruling will be to eliminate the use of the summary disposition of issues on motion. First, there may well be circumstances in which a party believes it is unnecessary to present oral testimony on this issue and may decide that proceeding by affidavit or declarations alone is sufficient. More importantly, as discussed in detail above, a party can preserve his right to an independent action by requesting to have a full hearing on the motion. I do not find California Rules of Court rule 323 which outlines the procedure a litigant must follow in seeking to present oral testimony to be overly burdensome. In addition, in examining this rule, the benefits to the litigant in proceeding in this manner must be weighed against the burden imposed. If a litigant is granted the opportunity to have a full hearing at this stage of the proceedings, it will save him or her the needless expense of initiating and pursuing an entirely separate action. While I agree with the majority it would be foolhardy for a litigant not to request the right to present oral testimony if that litigant believes such testimony is critical to his or her claim, I do not believe rule 323 will unduly inhibit a litigant from pursuing this route. Moreover, if the court denies this request the party will be free to file an independent action.