Crawford v. Hoffman

[1017]

Opinion

MORRIS, P. J.

Plaintiff appeals from a judgment of dismissal pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 583, subdivision (b),

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for failure to bring the action to trial within five years after filing the action. We reverse.

On October 27, 1975, plaintiff filed her action for personal injuries resulting from a vehicular collision. On November 8, 1979, the case was ordered into judicial arbitration. On July 17, 1980, the case was restored to the active civil calendar list. Upon motion of the defendant brought pursuant to section 583, subdivision (b), the action was ordered dismissed on June 3, 1981.

The question before us is whether the five year period of section 583, subdivision (b), was tolled by the period of judicial arbitration.

A revised judicial arbitration law became operative on July 1, 1979, (§ 1141.31) and encompasses sections 1141.10 through 1141.32. The law was made applicable to “all at-issue civil actions pending on or filed after” July 1, 1979 (§ 1141.11, subd. (a)).

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The Judicial Council was charged with promulgating rules for judicial arbitration practice and procedure to conform with the statutory provisions. (§ 1141.14.)

With respect to tolling the provisions of section 583, the law provided: “Submission of an action to arbitration pursuant to this chapter

shall not toll

the running of the time periods contained in Section 583

as to actions filed on or after the operative date

of this chapter. Submission to arbitration pursuant to a court order

within six months of the expiration of the statutory period shall toll

the running of such period until the filing of an arbitration award.” (§ 1141.17, italics added.) Section 1141.17 was a new provision not drawing on or replacing a former statute.