BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1659| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- CONSENT Bill No: AB 1659 Author: Chau (D) Amended: 4/1/14 in Assembly Vote: 21 SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/17/14 AYES: Jackson, Corbett, Lara, Leno, Monning, Vidak NO VOTE RECORDED: Anderson ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 4/21/14 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Civil actions: post-verdict motions SOURCE : California Defense Council Consumer Attorneys of California DIGEST : This bill increases uniformity between the timelines for three different post-verdict motions: a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV); a motion for a new trial; and a motion to set aside and vacate a judgment. ANALYSIS : Existing law: 1.Requires, among other things, a party intending to move for a new trial to file with the clerk and serve upon each adverse party a notice of intention to move for a new trial, designating the grounds upon which the motion will be made and CONTINUED AB 1659 Page 2 whether the same will be made upon affidavits or the minutes of the court, or both, either: After the decision is rendered and before entry of the judgment; or Within 15 days of the date of mailing notice of entry of judgment by the clerk of the court, as specified, or service upon him by any party of written notice of entry of judgment, or within 180 days after the entry of judgment, whichever is earliest; provided, that upon the filing of the first notice of intention to move for a new trial by a party, each other party shall have 15 days after the service of notice upon him to file an serve a notice of intention to move for a new trial. (Code Civil Procedure (CCP) Section 659) 1.Provides the following: The power of a court to rule on a motion for a new trial expires 60 days from the mailing of notice of entry of judgment by the court clerk, or 60 days after service on the moving party by any party of written notice of entry of the judgment, whichever is earlier, or if that notice has not been given, then 60 days after filing the first notice of intention to move to set aside and vacate the judgment; If the motion is not determined within the specified periods, the effect shall be a denial of the motion without further order of the court; A motion for a new trial is not determined until an order ruling on the motion is (a) entered in the permanent minutes of the court or (b) signed by the judge and filed with the clerk; The entry of a new trial order in the permanent minutes of the court shall constitute a determination of the motion even though such minute order as entered expressly directs that a written order be prepared, signed and filed; and The minute entry in all cases must show the date on which the order actually is entered in the permanent CONTINUED AB 1659 Page 3 minutes, but provides that failure to comply with this direction shall not impair the validity or effectiveness of the order. (CCP Section 660) 1.Provides, within 10 days of filing a notice for a new trial, the moving party shall serve upon all other parties and file any affidavits intended to be used upon such motion. Such other parties shall have 10 days after such service within which to serve upon the moving party and file counter-affidavits. The time herein specified may, for good cause shown by affidavit or by written stipulation of the parties, be extended by any judge for an additional period of not exceeding 20 days. (CCP Section 659a) 2.Requires, in relevant part, that a motion for JNOV be made within the period specified for the filing and serving of notice of intention to move for a new trial. Provides that the making of a JNOV motion shall not extend the time within which a party may file and serve notice of intention to move for a new trial. (CCP Section 629) 3.Sets the timing and procedures to file a motion to set aside and vacate a judgment and for a court to rule upon that motion. (CCP Section 663a) This bill: 1.Provides, within 10 days of filing the notice, the moving party shall serve upon all other parties and file any brief and accompanying documents, including affidavits in support of the motion. The other parties shall have 10 days after that service within which to serve upon the moving party and file any opposing briefs and accompanying documents, including counter-affidavits. The moving party shall have five days after that service to file any reply brief and accompanying documents. These deadlines may, for good cause shown by affidavit or by written stipulation of the parties, be extended by any judge for an additional period not to exceed 10 days. 2.Adds that the moving, opposing, and reply briefs and any accompanying documents for a JNOV motion shall be filed and served within the periods specified for a motion for a new trial (as proposed to be amended by this bill, above) and adds CONTINUED AB 1659 Page 4 that the hearing on the JNOV motion shall be set in the same manner as the hearing on a motion for new trial. 3.Adds that the moving, opposing, and reply briefs and any accompanying documents for a motion to set aside and vacate a judgment shall be filed and served within the periods specified for a motion for a new trial (as proposed to be amended by this bill), and adds that the hearing on the motion for a motion to set aside and vacate a judgment shall be set in the same manner as the hearing on a motion for new trial. 4.Makes other nonsubstantive and technical changes. Background As a matter of law, the time for making a motion depends on the nature of the motion and the relief sought. Certain motions, such as motions for change of venue, should be made at the earliest opportunity. (44 Cal. Jur. Motion Procedure Sec. 8.) Other motions, such as motions for a new trial, are necessarily made after judgment has been rendered. Generally, once a judgment has been entered, the trial court loses its unrestricted power to change that judgment. For example, while the court retains power to correct clerical errors in a judgment that has been entered, it may not amend such a judgment to substantially modify it or materially alter the rights of the parties under its authority to correct clerical error. The trial court does, however, retain jurisdiction for a limited period of time to entertain and grant a motion for a new trial, a motion for a JNOV, or a motion to set aside and vacate a judgment and enter a different judgment where there was an incorrect or erroneous legal basis for the decision, not consistent with or supported by the facts, or a judgment not consistent with or not supported by a special verdict, among other things. (40A Cal. Jur. Judgments Sec. 244) CCP generally sets timelines and procedures for the making and consideration of each of the above motions. If a motion is not filed and served within those timeframes, it can be either premature or overdue; either way, the court would lack jurisdiction to consider and grant the motion. Sponsored by CONTINUED AB 1659 Page 5 both the California Defense Council and the Consumer Attorneys of California, this bill seeks to bring uniformity to the timeliness and procedures for filings and service of documents relating to these post-verdict motions so as to reduce confusion for the parties and promote the efficient use of court resources. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 6/19/14) California Defense Council (co-source) Consumer Attorneys of California (co-source) Judicial Council ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author: AB 1659 will set a uniform briefing schedule for post-trial motions. Currently, the deadlines for filing post-trial motions are inconsistent and cause confusion to practitioners. Post-trial motions refer to motions for a new trial, judgment notwithstanding the verdict (JNOV), and motions to vacate the judgment. [ . . . ] These motions are vital to civil litigation practice and the inconsistency in deadlines result in procedural difficulties by requiring practitioners to make numerous ex parte trips to the courthouse to work out scheduling. Given the importance of these motions and the budgetary constraints our courts face, conforming these deadlines will benefit the practice of law for all parties and will help save court resources by minimizing the need for ex parte trips. AB 1659 will make scheduling more efficient for attorneys and the courts by simplifying and streamlining the deadlines for filing a motion for a new trial, a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and a motion to vacate the judgment. Consumer Attorneys of California, a co-sponsor of this bill, CONTINUED AB 1659 Page 6 writes that "AB 1659 is a non-controversial, procedural measure that will set a uniform briefing schedule for certain post trial motions," noting that, currently, "post trial motions are complex and intricate and laden with jurisdictional pitfalls." The California Defense Council, also a co-sponsor of this bill, adds that aligning the deadlines for these three post-trial motions "will simplify practice to the benefit of lawyers, litigants, and the courts." ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 4/21/14 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NO VOTE RECORDED: Harkey, Melendez, Vacancy JA:k 6/19/14 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED