County of L.A. v. Financial Casualty & Surety, Inc. CA2/4

Filed 7/29/15 County of L.A. v. Financial Casualty & Surety, Inc. CA2/4 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FOUR

COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, B253955 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. SJ1573) v. FINANCIAL CASUALTY & SURETY, INC.,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from a judgment and an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Lia Martin, Judge. Reversed and remanded with instructions. E. Alan Nunez for Defendant and Appellant. Mark J. Saladino, County Counsel, Ruben Baeza, Jr., Assistant County Counsel, and Debbie C. Carlos, Deputy County Counsel, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Financial Casualty & Surety Inc. (Financial) appeals the denial of its motion to set aside summary judgment on a forfeited bail bond pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Section 473, subdivision (b) (section 473). We hold the trial court erred in concluding that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the motion on the merits. We accordingly reverse and remand to the trial court for a hearing on the merits of Financial’s motion to set aside summary judgment. BACKGROUND On February 2, 2013, Financial executed a $30,000 bail bond, which was posted for the release of criminal defendant Dimitri Phelix Brannon. Following his release, Brannon was scheduled to appear in court on February 11, 2013 for arraignment. Brannon failed to appear, and the court ordered the bond forfeited. On February 19, 2013, the court clerk mailed a bail forfeiture notice to Financial. Under the notice and pursuant to Penal Code section 1305,1 Financial had 180 days, plus five days for service by mail—until August 23, 2013—to surrender the defendant to custody or move to set aside the forfeiture. This 185-day period is commonly referred to as the exoneration period.2 On August 15, 2013, Financial filed a motion to extend the exoneration period. Judge James Otto in Department J called the motion for hearing at 8:30 a.m. on August 29, 2013. Financial did not appear, and the trial court took the matter off calendar. Subsequently, the matter was transferred to Judge Lia Martin, who entered summary judgment on the forfeited bond on October 4, 2013. On October 25, 2013, Financial filed a motion to set aside summary judgment on the forfeited bond due to its attorney’s mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect (Code Civ. Proc., § 473, subd. (b)) (motion to set aside summary judgment or 1 Except for references to Code of Civil Procedure section 473, all further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise stated. 2 Courts also sometimes refer to this period as the appearance period.