Sheta v. Grahm

318 P.2d 756, 156 Cal. App. 2d 77, 1957 Cal. App. LEXIS 1381
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedDecember 12, 1957
DocketCiv. 22850
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 318 P.2d 756 (Sheta v. Grahm) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Sheta v. Grahm, 318 P.2d 756, 156 Cal. App. 2d 77, 1957 Cal. App. LEXIS 1381 (Cal. Ct. App. 1957).

Opinion

FOX, Acting P. J.

This is a motion to dismiss the appeal on the ground that the notice of appeal was not filed within the time required by the Rules on Appeal in view of the provisions of rule 2(b) (2).

Plaintiff brought this action as an assignee of a Nevada corporation. Prior to filing their answer defendants made a motion to dismiss on the ground, inter alia, that the plaintiff had forfeited its powers, rights and privileges in this state because of nonpayment of its franchise tax. (Rev. & Tax. Code, §§ 23301, 23302.) In support of this motion, defendants submitted the affidavit of one of their attorneys in which he stated that at all times mentioned in the second amended complaint plaintiff’s assignor, Eldindia Corporation, was a Nevada corporation; that the right of said corporation to exercise corporate rights and privileges in the State of California was forfeited on September 1, 1950, for failure to pay taxes due to the Franchise Tax Board of the State of California, and that “said corporation has never since been and is not now reinstated or relieved from said forfeiture in California. ” The affiant attached a certificate of the Secretary of State of California in support of his averments. No counteraffidavit was filed.

On July 23, 1957, the trial court granted the motion to dismiss and directed the attorney for the defendants to prepare a formal order of dismissal. The signed “order dismissing defendants and judgment for their costs” was filed August 1, 1957, and entered August 14th. Notice of appeal was filed October 11, 1957.

It is respondents’ position that the time for appeal started to run on August 1, 1957, the date on which the formal order of dismissal was filed, and that since the notice of *79 appeal was not filed until more than 60 days thereafter, it was too late, and the appeal must be dismissed.

Appellant contends, however, that the time for appeal did not start to run until the entry of judgment on August 14, and that since his notice of appeal was filed on October 11 he is in ample time.

Rule 2(b) (2), Rules on Appeal, reads: “The date of entry of an appealable order which is entered in the minutes shall be the date of its entry in the permanent minutes, unless such minute order as entered expressly directs that a written order he prepared, signed and filed, in which case the date of entry shall he the date of filing of the signed order.” (Emphasis added.)

As pointed out in Herrscher v. Herrscher, 41 Cal.2d 300, 304 [259 P.2d 901], “The language of this rule is clear and leaves no room for interpretation.” The Herrscher case, procedurally, is closely analogous to the one at bar. In the Herrscher case, defendant filed a cross-complaint which brought in additional parties. Plaintiff made a motion to strike the cross-complaint; the motion was granted, the minute order, as here, containing a direction to counsel to prepare a formal order. An appeal was taken. In due course, a motion to dismiss the appeal was made. In passing on the matter, the court announced principles that are pertinent to the disposition of the motion in the instant ease. The court stated: “An order granting a motion to strike a cross-complaint from the files is equivalent to an order dismissing the cross-complaint. [Citation.] Where the parties to the cross-complaint are not identical with the parties to the original action, the order amounts to a final adjudication between the cross-complainants and cross-defendants and is appealable. [Citations.] It has long been the rule in this state that an order of dismissal is to be treated as a judgment for the purposes of taking an appeal when it finally disposes of the particular action and prevents further proceedings as effectually as would any formal judgment. [Citation.]

“The time for filing a notice of appeal is determined by the provisions of rule 2 of the Rules on Appeal, namely, ‘within 60 days from the date of entry of the judgment. ’ * This rule followed the provisions of former section 939 of *80 the Code of Civil Procedure which it superseded. Difficulties in practice were encountered in determining what was meant by the phrase ‘date of entry.’ Did it mean the date when the order was set forth in the so-called rough minutes of the court, or did it mean the date when it was entered in the permanent minutes? What was the effect of an appealable order evidenced by a minute entry which was followed later by a written order or judgment filed? It has been decided that where findings of fact or a further or formal order is required, an appeal does not lie from a minute order. [Citations.] Rule 2(b)(2) was adopted to clarify this situation ...

“ It is a matter of trial court procedure whether the court chooses to make its final decision by the entry in the minutes of an order without a direction that a written order be prepared, signed and filed, or elects to enter a direction that a formal order be prepared. [Citation.]” (Supra, 303-304.)

Applying these principles to the case at bar, it is apparent that an order dismissing the complaint herein is equivalent to the order dismissing the cross-complaint in the Herrscher case. The order of dismissal herein amounts to a final adjudication between the parties, just as the order dismissing the cross-complaint in the Herrscher case amounted “to a final adjudication between the cross-complainants and cross-defendants” therein. Such “an order of dismissal,” as stated in the Herrscher case, “is to be treated as a judgment for the purposes of taking an appeal” since it finally disposed of the action and prevented “further proceedings as effectually as would any formal judgment. ” It is thus clear that the order of dismissal is appealable. (Herrscher v. Herrscher, supra.)

In order to eliminate, in such circumstances, any uncertainty as to the date from which the time for appeal started to run, rule 2(b)(2) was promulgated. The portion which we have italicized specifically covers the situation before us. The trial court directed counsel to prepare a formal order for the court’s signature. Such order was signed by the trial judge, and filed on August 1st. Under the plain language of rule 2(b)(2) the time for appeal then started to run. (Herrscher v. Herrscher, supra.) Since the plaintiff did not file his notice of appeal until October 11, which was more than 60 days after the formal order of dismissal was filed, it is *81 apparent that plaintiff’s notice of appeal was filed too late and that the appeal must be dismissed.

Appellant contends that the motion to dismiss was a “speaking motion” and, as such, it should have been treated as a motion for summary judgment under Code of Civil Procedure section 437c. Hence the time for appeal would not begin to run until the entry of judgment. In this connection plaintiff relies upon Pianka v. State, 46 Cal.2d 208 [293 P.2d 458].

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

People v. Stuyvesant Insurance Co.
261 Cal. App. 2d 773 (California Court of Appeal, 1968)
Sockett v. Gottlieb
187 Cal. App. 2d 760 (California Court of Appeal, 1960)
White v. Ostly
343 P.2d 937 (California Court of Appeal, 1959)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
318 P.2d 756, 156 Cal. App. 2d 77, 1957 Cal. App. LEXIS 1381, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sheta-v-grahm-calctapp-1957.