Steinhart v. South Coast Area Transit

Opinion

GILBERT, J.

Defendant South Coast Area Transit (SCAT) appeals the granting of a new trial. We agree with SCAT that the order granting the new trial must be reversed and the judgment reinstated.

Facts

Plaintiff Lawrence Steinhart moved for a new trial after a defense verdict in his personal injury action. SCAT served the judgment on Steinhart on

[772]

July 6, 1983. The hearing on the motion for new trial was heard on August 21, 1983. At that hearing the trial judge orally granted the motion for a new trial. He reviewed the evidence on the record and suggested a transcript be prepared for his signature.

The minute order dated August 21 stated, among other things, “[t]he court states its specifications for the record. [H] Counsel for defendant SCAT requests that the court reporter prepare a transcript of these proceedings, submit the same to the court for signature and the same shall be deemed the written specification.”

On September 11, 1984, the court filed an “Order Granting Motion For New Trial.” This order stated that the court “. . . grants plaintiff’s motion for new trial upon the grounds that the evidence is insufficient to justify the verdict. [1] Defendant SCAT, having requested a statement of decision, is referenced to the Transcript of August 21, 1984, during which an oral statement of decision was made. That transcript, which was not available until September 7, 1984, is incorporated into this order by reference.”

We conclude that both the orders of August 21, and September 11, were fatally defective to grant the motion for new trial.

Discussion

This case is like

Sanchez-Corea

v.

Bank of America

(1985) 38 Cal.3d 892, 899 [215 Cal.Rptr. 679, 701 P.2d 826], and “. . . is governed by [Code of Civil Procedure