Garcia v. McCutchen

Opinion

CHIN, J.

In this case, we consider the scope of a trial court’s power to dismiss an action for noncompliance with local court rules implementing the 1990 Trial Court Delay Reduction Act (Act) (Gov. Code, § 68600 et seq.). We conclude that, under the governing statutes, a court may not impose this sanction if noncompliance is the responsibility of counsel, not of the litigant. Therefore, we affirm the Court of Appeal judgment, which reversed the trial court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s action.

Facts

In April 1993, plaintiff Danny Garcia filed a complaint in the Fresno County Superior Court…