SECTIONS 116.710-116.795 - California Statutes

CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE

SECTION 116.710-116.795

116.710. (a) The plaintiff in a small claims action shall have no
right to appeal the judgment on the plaintiff's claim, but a
plaintiff who did not appear at the hearing may file a motion to
vacate the judgment in accordance with Section 116.720.
(b) The defendant with respect to the plaintiff's claim, and a
plaintiff with respect to a claim of the defendant, may appeal the
judgment to the superior court in the county in which the action was
heard.
(c) With respect to the plaintiff's claim, the insurer of the
defendant may appeal the judgment to the superior court in the county
in which the matter was heard if the judgment exceeds two thousand
five hundred dollars ($2,500) and the insurer stipulates that its
policy with the defendant covers the matter to which the judgment
applies.
(d) A defendant who did not appear at the hearing has no right to
appeal the judgment, but may file a motion to vacate the judgment in
accordance with Section 116.730 or 116.740 and also may appeal the
denial of that motion.

116.720. (a) A plaintiff who did not appear at the hearing in the
small claims court may file a motion to vacate the judgment with the
clerk of the small claims court. The motion shall be filed within 30
days after the clerk has mailed notice of entry of the judgment to
the parties.
(b) The clerk shall schedule the hearing on the motion to vacate
for a date no earlier than 10 days after the clerk has mailed written
notice of the date, time, and place of the hearing to the parties.
(c) Upon a showing of good cause, the small claims court may grant
the motion. If the defendant is not present, the court shall hear
the motion in the defendant's absence.
(d) If the motion is granted, and if all parties are present and
agree, the court may hear the case without rescheduling it. If the
defendant is not present, the judge or clerk shall reschedule the
case and give notice in accordance with Section 116.330.

116.725. (a) A motion to correct a clerical error in a judgment or
to set aside and vacate a judgment on the ground of an incorrect or
erroneous legal basis for the decision may be made as follows:
(1) By the court on its own motion at any time.
(2) By a party within 30 days after the clerk mails notice of
entry of judgment to the parties.
(b) Each party may file only one motion to correct a clerical
error or to set aside and vacate the judgment on the ground of an
incorrect or erroneous legal basis for the decision.

116.730. (a) A defendant who did not appear at the hearing in the
small claims court may file a motion to vacate the judgment with the
clerk of the small claims court. The motion shall be filed within 30
days after the clerk has mailed notice of entry of the judgment to
the parties.
(b) The defendant shall appear at any hearing on the motion, or
submit written justification for not appearing together with a
declaration in support of the motion.
(c) Upon a showing of good cause, the court may grant the motion
to vacate the judgment. If the plaintiff is not present, the court
shall hear the motion in the plaintiff's absence.
(d) If the motion is granted, and if all parties are present and
agree, the court may hear the case without rescheduling it. If the
plaintiff is not present, the judge or clerk shall reschedule the
case and give notice in accordance with Section 116.330.
(e) If the motion is denied, the defendant may appeal to the
superior court only on the denial of the motion to vacate the
judgment. The defendant shall file the notice of appeal with the
clerk of the small claims court within 10 days after the small claims
court has mailed or delivered notice of the court's denial of the
motion to vacate the judgment.
(f) If the superior court determines that the defendant's motion
to vacate the judgment should have been granted, the superior court
may hear the claims of all parties without rescheduling the matter,
provided that all parties are present and the defendant has
previously complied with this article, or may order the case
transferred to the small claims court for a hearing.

116.740. (a) If the defendant was not properly served as required
by Section 116.330 or 116.340 and did not appear at the hearing in
the small claims court, the defendant may file a motion to vacate the
judgment with the clerk of the small claims court. The motion shall
be accompanied by a supporting declaration, and shall be filed within
180 days after the defendant discovers or should have discovered
that judgment was entered against the defendant.
(b) The court may order that the enforcement of the judgment shall
be suspended pending a hearing and determination of the motion to
vacate the judgment.
(c) Upon a showing of good cause, the court may grant the motion
to vacate the judgment. If the plaintiff is not present, the court
shall hear the motion in the plaintiff's absence.
(d) Subdivisions (d), (e), and (f) of Section 116.730 apply to any
motion to vacate a judgment.

116.745. The clerk shall collect a fee of twenty dollars ($20) for
the filing of a motion to vacate.

116.750. (a) An appeal from a judgment in a small claims action is
taken by filing a notice of appeal with the clerk of the small claims
court.
(b) A notice of appeal shall be filed not later than 30 days after
the clerk has delivered or mailed notice of entry of the judgment to
the parties. A notice of appeal filed after the 30-day period is
ineffective for any purpose.
(c) The time for filing a notice of appeal is not extended by the
filing of a request to correct a mistake or by virtue of any
subsequent proceedings on that request, except that a new period for
filing notice of appeal shall begin on the delivery or mailing of
notice of entry of any modified judgment.

116.760. (a) The appealing party shall pay a fee of seventy-five
dollars ($75) for filing a notice of appeal.
(b) A party who does not appeal shall not be charged any fee for
filing any document relating to the appeal.
(c) The fee shall be distributed as follows:
(1) To the county law library fund, as provided in Section 6320 of
the Business and Professions Code, the amount specified in Section
6321 and 6322.1 of the Business and Professions Code.
(2) To the Trial Court Trust Fund, the remainder of the fee.

116.770. (a) The appeal to the superior court shall consist of a
new hearing before a judicial officer other than the judicial officer
who heard the action in the small claims division.
(b) The hearing on an appeal to the superior court shall be
conducted informally. The pretrial discovery procedures described in
Section 2019.010 are not permitted, no party has a right to a trial
by jury, and no tentative decision or statement of decision is
required.
(c) Article 5 (commencing with Section 116.510) on hearings in the
small claims court applies in hearings on appeal in the superior
court, except that attorneys may participate.
(d) The scope of the hearing shall include the claims of all
parties who were parties to the small claims action at the time the
notice of appeal was filed. The hearing shall include the claim of a
defendant that was heard in the small claims court.
(e) The clerk of the superior court shall schedule the hearing for
the earliest available time and shall mail written notice of the
hearing to the parties at least 14 days prior to the time set for the
hearing.
(f) The Judicial Council may prescribe by rule the practice and
procedure on appeal and the time and manner in which the record on
appeal shall be prepared and filed.

116.780. (a) The judgment of the superior court after a hearing on
appeal is final and not appealable.
(b) Article 6 (commencing with Section 116.610) on judgments of
the small claims court applies to judgments of the superior court
after a hearing on appeal, except as provided in subdivisions (c) and
(d).
(c) For good cause and where necessary to achieve substantial
justice between the parties, the superior court may award a party to
an appeal reimbursement of (1) attorney's fees actually and
reasonably incurred in connection with the appeal, not exceeding one
hundred fifty dollars ($150), and (2) actual loss of earnings and
expenses of transportation and lodging actually and reasonably
incurred in connection with the appeal, not exceeding one hundred
fifty dollars ($150).

116.790. If the superior court finds that the appeal was without
substantial merit and not based on good faith, but was intended to
harass or delay the other party, or to encourage the other party to
abandon the claim, the court may award the other party (a) attorney's
fees actually and reasonably incurred in connection with the appeal,
not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), and (b) any actual loss
of earnings and any expenses of transportation and lodging actually
and reasonably incurred in connection with the appeal, not exceeding
one thousand dollars ($1,000), following a hearing on the matter.

116.795. (a) The superior court may dismiss the appeal if the
appealing party does not appear at the hearing or if the appeal is
not heard within one year from the date of filing the notice of
appeal with the clerk of the small claims court.
(b) Upon dismissal of an appeal by the superior court, the small
claims court shall thereafter have the same jurisdiction as if no
appeal had been filed.