Plaza Del Sol v. Han CA4/1

Filed 11/7/24 Plaza Del Sol v. Han CA4/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

STATE OF CALIFORNIA

PLAZA DEL SOL, LLC, D083056

Plaintiff and Respondent,

v. (Super. Ct. No. 37-2022- 00010261-CU-BC-CTL) DEOK WEON HAN,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Joel R. Wohlfeil, Judge. Affirmed. Deok Weon Han, in pro. per., for Defendant and Appellant. Kimball, Tirey & St. John, Cynthia D. Stelzer and Jackson W. Isaacs for Plaintiff and Respondent. Following a one-day bench trial, the court entered judgment against Deok Weon Han, finding he breached his commercial lease with Plaza Del Sol, LLC by not paying rent. Han appeals, arguing (1) Plaza Del Sol “failed to meet its burden of proving that the unpaid rent breached the contract” and (2) the trial court “did not fully consider” the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and related emergency laws. Plaza Del Sol moves to dismiss the

appeal as untimely. We conclude the appeal is timely, and we affirm because Han has not provided us with a sufficient record to allow for meaningful review. I. Plaza Del Sol moves to dismiss this appeal on the ground that Han filed his notice of appeal too late, thus depriving us of jurisdiction. We disagree. “The time for appealing a judgment is jurisdictional; once the deadline expires, the appellate court has no power to entertain the appeal.” (Van Beurden Ins. Services, Inc. v. Customized Worldwide Weather Ins. Agency, Inc. (1997) 15 Cal.4th 51, 56.) In general, an appellant must file a notice of appeal within 60 days of service of the notice of entry of judgment, “[u]nless a statute or rules 8.108, 8.702, or 8.712 provide otherwise.” (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 8.104.) Rule 8.108 extends the time to appeal under certain situations. (Rule 8.108(a).) For example, if a party serves and files a “valid” notice of motion or motion to vacate the judgment, the new deadline to appeal is the earliest of: (1) 30 days after service of the order on the motion, (2) 90 days after the notice of intention or motion is filed, or (3) 180 days after the entry of judgment. (Rule 8.108(c)(1)-(3).) A motion to vacate a judgment is valid if “based on a recognized ground” like those listed in Code of Civil Procedure sections 663 or 473. (Arega v. Bay Area Rapid Transit District (2022) 83 Cal.App.5th 308, 315- 316.) It does not need to be “substantively meritorious” to be valid. (Advisory Committee Notes to rule 8.108.) As relevant here, a party may move to “set aside and vacate” a judgment under section 663 by (1) filing the notice of motion within 15 days of the notice of entry, (2) designating the grounds for