BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                        AB 522|
          |Office of Senate Floor Analyses   |                              |
          |1020 N Street, Suite 524          |                              |
          |(916) 651-1520         Fax: (916) |                              |
          |327-4478                          |                              |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
           
                                           
                                       CONSENT


          Bill No:  AB 522
          Author:   Bloom (D)
          Amended:  5/24/13 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
          SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE  :  6-0, 6/4/13
          AYES:  Evans, Anderson, Corbett, Jackson, Leno, Monning
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Walters
           
          ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  77-0, 4/15/13 (Consent) - See last page for  
            vote


           SUBJECT  :    Civil actions:  exceptions to dismissal for delay in  
          prosecution

           SOURCE  :     Family Law Section of the State Bar of California


           DIGEST  :    This bill expands the types of actions to which the  
          exception to dismissal of an action for delay in prosecution  
          applies and includes an action for the dissolution of a domestic  
          partnership, an action based on void or voidable marriage, and  
          an action relating to a child custody or visitation order.  This  
          bill prohibits those actions from being dismissed under the  
          specified conditions that also includes if an order regarding  
          child custody or visitation has been issued, as specified, or if  
          a valid personal conduct restraining order exists and if an  
          issue in the case has been bifurcated, as specified.

           ANALYSIS  :    

                                                                CONTINUED





                                                                     AB 522
                                                                     Page  
          2

          Existing law:

          1. Provides that an action shall be brought to trial within five  
             years after the action is commenced, and authorizes a court  
             to dismiss an action for delay in prosecution if the action  
             is not brought within the specified time period, either on  
             the court's own motion or on motion of the defendant, as  
             specified.  (Code of Civil Procedure (CCP) Sections 583.310,  
             583.360)

          2. Prohibits dismissal for delay in prosecution in an action for  
             dissolution of marriage or legal separation if a valid order  
             for child or spousal support exists, or, if in an action for  
             dissolution of marriage, a separate trial on the issue of the  
             status of the marriage has been conducted, as specified.   
             (CCP Section 583.161) 

          This bill:

          1. Expands the types of actions to which the exception to  
             dismissal of an action for delay in prosecution applies to  
             include:  (1) an action for the dissolution of a domestic  
             partnership; (2) an action based on void or voidable  
             marriage; and (3) an action relating to a child custody or  
             visitation order. 

          2. Prohibits dismissal of the types of actions described above  
             if any of the following conditions exist:

                   An order for child support or an order regarding child  
                custody or visitation has been issued in connection with  
                the proceeding, and that order has not been terminated by  
                court order or operation of law, as specified; 

                   An order for spousal support has been issued in  
                connection with the proceeding and the order has not been  
                terminated by the court; or 

                   A personal conduct restraining order has been issued  
                pursuant to the Domestic Violence Protection Act, and that  
                order has not been terminated by either operation of law  
                or by the court.

           Background

                                                                CONTINUED





                                                                    AB 522
                                                                     Page  
          3

           
          Existing law provides for the dismissal of an action where that  
          action has not been brought to trial within five years after the  
          plaintiff has filed his complaint, subject to certain  
          exceptions.  This rule is designed to ensure that plaintiffs  
          diligently proceed with the lawsuit in a timely manner.  From a  
          policy perspective, it is important that cases are tried before  
          evidence is lost or destroyed, the memories of witnesses become  
          hazy, and to protect defendants from being subjected to  
          unmeritorious claims.  In Bank of America v. Moore & Harrah, 54  
          Cal.App.2d 37, 43, the court explained that the "statute has the  
          very salutary purpose of expediting trials.  Its language is  
          clear and definite and the integrity of its meaning has  
          generally been upheld by the courts in a plenitude of  
          decisions." 

          However, there are exceptions to this general rule, including  
          certain family law actions where litigants often represent  
          themselves, and deal with complex and highly emotional  
          constitutional and fundamental rights.  Additionally, many  
          parties to family law litigation reconcile prior to the  
          conclusion of their case, or resolve their case through a series  
          of short hearings rather than in one major trial.  

          The Legislature has acknowledged that litigants dealing with  
          these weighty and complex family issues may need more protection  
          than general civil litigants, and has exempted from the  
          automatic dismissal rule any action for dissolution of marriage  
          where there is a valid order for child or spousal support, or  
          where a separate trial on the issue of the status of the  
          marriage has been conducted.

           Prior legislation  .  AB 2208 (Assembly Judiciary Committee,  
          Chapter 1269, Statutes of 1994), among other things, created two  
          additional exceptions to the requirement for bringing a civil  
          action to trial within five years for (1) actions for  
          dissolution of marriage or legal separation in which a spousal  
          support order issued in connection with the proceeding is in  
          effect and (2) actions for dissolution of marriage in which a  
          trial on the issue of the status of the dissolution of the  
          marriage has been conducted separately from a trial of other  
          issues in the action.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No   Local:  

                                                                CONTINUED





                                                                     AB 522
                                                                     Page  
          4

           No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  6/4/13)

          Family Law Section of the State Bar of California (source)
          Association of Certified Family Law Specialists
          Association of Family and Conciliation Courts
          Bar Association of San Francisco - Family Law Section
          Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of the Los Angeles  
            County Bar Association


           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    This bill's sponsor, Family Law Section  
          of the State Bar of California, argues that "the purpose of the  
          mandate to bring cases to trial within five years is to try  
          cases when witness's memories are fresher and the evidence has  
          not gone stale, and to protect defendants from being subjected  
          to unmeritorious claims.  But, unlike civil litigation, wherein  
          the actual parties rarely set foot in a courtroom prior to  
          trial, family law litigants often litigate core issues of  
          custody, visitation, support, property restraint and other forms  
          of injunctive relief prior to trial.  Yet, cases wherein a court  
          has made such temporary orders are not exempted from mandatory  
          dismissal.  This proposal would bring consistency to the Code."


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  77-0, 4/15/13
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,  
            Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown,  
            Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway,  
            Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,  
            Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell,  
            Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones,  
            Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Maienschein, Mansoor,  
            Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi,  
            Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel  
            Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone,  
            Ting, Torres, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk,  
            Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Harkey, Lowenthal, Vacancy


          AL:k  6/4/13   Senate Floor Analyses 


                                                                CONTINUED





                                                                     AB 522
                                                                     Page  
          5

                           SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

                                   ****  END  ****










































                                                                CONTINUED