Court Opinion

ID: 9723733
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 10:29:28.726921+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:24:51.395490
License: Public Domain

*73WALLIN, J.
I concur in all of the majority opinion, except those portions of part II which suggest that the Legislature ought to require the preparation of a statement of decision by a trial judge following a hearing on a preliminary injunction. I do not believe a statement is appropriate, advisable or necessary to appellate review of preliminary injunction rulings. No final decisions are made on any factual or legal issues when the court merely considers whether to maintain the status quo pending trial.
There is an alarming tendency in the law and recent cases to require greater specificity from trial courts in routine rulings. The Legislature and those of us serving on appellate courts must not forget that trial courts exist primarily to hear and expeditiously resolve disputes. They do not have the time or the facilities to prepare opinions, especially in pretrial proceedings. I do not favor adding yet another opinion writing requirement to already overburdened law and motion judges.
Requiring a statement of decision may also delay appellate review of injunction matters when review is urgently pressed by either party. The preparation of a statement requires more than two months in order to give all parties an opportunity to prepare proposed statements and present objections. (Code Civ. Proc., § 632; Cal. Rules of Court, rule 232.) During that time appellate review of the granting or denying of injunctive relief could be frustrated. In addition, the law and motion judge will have considered hundreds of additional cases and could not possibly be expected to clearly recollect the fine points of the earlier hearing. In any event, the time and expense involved in the preparation of a statement should be saved for the trial.
Finally, preliminary injunction decisions, unlike many other pretrial orders, are easily reviewed by an examination of the terms of the injunction as requested or granted. Appellate courts can adequately review trial court determinations merely by comparing the evidence presented to the order obtained. In complicated injunction proceedings the order is often several pages long. The terms of the order adequately present, for purposes of review, the trial court’s decision on various contested issues.
I would affirm the trial court without suggesting the imposition of yet another burden for trial judges and expense in money and time for litigants.
Appellant’s petition for review by the Supreme Court was denied May 7, 1986.