McAtee v. REALTY EXECUTIVES

17 Cal.Rptr.3d 172 (2004) 121 Cal.App.4th Supp. 1 Anna Lou McATEE, Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.

REALTY EXECUTIVES, Defendant and Appellant.

No. BV 024899. Appellate Division, Superior Court, Los Angeles County.

June 24, 2004. Hacker, Kanowsky & Braly, Jeffrey A. Hacker, Santa Clarita, and Lori K. Hollister, for Defendant and Appellant.

No appearance, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

OPINION AND JUDGMENT

LEE, P.J.

The judgment is affirmed.

On June 15, 2000, plaintiff Anna Lou McAtee filed a complaint for breach of contract against defendant Realty Executives. The complaint alleged that there was a written contract between the parties, under which plaintiff would sell homes for defendant on commission, but defendant breached the contract about June 30, 1996, by paying plaintiff's commission, in the amount of $8,513.10, to another person without plaintiff's consent. Defendant filed an answer to the complaint on July 12, 2000, denying the allegations of the complaint and alleging that its written contract was with plaintiff's husband, Ron McAtee (McAtee), not plaintiff, and plaintiff was not entitled to commissions.

The record on appeal contains a minute order reflecting proceedings on October 7, 2002, in which defendant's counsel announced an intention to move to dismiss the complaint on statute of limitations [173] grounds.[1] The matter went forward as a court trial on January 7, 2003, and was concluded that day. On the same day, the court issued a judgment in favor of plaintiff, awarding damages in the principal amount of $8,513.10, as well as costs in the amount of $90. On January 27, 2003, defendant filed a motion for reconsideration. The motion was supported by a declaration of McAtee, wherein it was alleged that plaintiff was entitled to part of McAtee's commissions under a property agreement related to divorce proceedings, but that plaintiff "severed business relations" with McAtee on March 6, 1996. Numerous documents were included in the motion, although they were not individually described or discussed in the memorandum of points and authorities or McAtee's declaration. The record on appeal does not contain minutes of the trial; it does, however, contains minutes reflecting the hearing and denial of the motion for reconsideration.