Salas v. Quinn CA3

Filed 3/24/22 Salas v. Quinn CA3 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published,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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 THIRD APPELLATE DISTRICT (Placer) ----

TAMARA SALAS, C092741

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super. Ct. No. SCV0045096)

v.

CYNTHIA QUINN,

Defendant and Appellant.

Defendant Cynthia Quinn, in propria persona, appeals from a civil harassment restraining order entered against her. Because the restraining order expired by its terms on January 20, 2021, no appellate relief can be granted. We therefore dismiss the appeal as moot. BACKGROUND FACTS AND PROCEDURE In June 2020, plaintiff Tamara Salas filed a petition for a civil harassment restraining order (Code Civ. Proc., § 527.6) against defendant Quinn for harassing conduct alleged to have occurred over several months beginning in March 2020. Salas alleged that she was harassed because Quinn believed Salas had an extramarital affair with Quinn’s then-boyfriend.

1

The court held a contested evidentiary hearing on the restraining order on July 20, 2020. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court granted the petition and issued a restraining order using Judicial Council form CH-130. Quinn appealed from the order. DISCUSSION As a rule, an appeal becomes moot when the occurrence of an event makes it impossible for the appellate court to grant any effective relief. (Newsom v. Superior Court (2021) 63 Cal.App.5th 1099, 1109; Lincoln Place Tenants Assn. v. City of Los Angeles (2007) 155 Cal.App.4th 425, 454.) “If relief granted by the trial court is temporal, and if the relief granted expires before an appeal can be heard, then an appeal by the adverse party is moot. [Citation.]” (Environmental Charter High School v. Centinela Valley Union High School Dist. (2004) 122 Cal.App.4th 139, 144.) The restraining order that is the subject of this appeal expired, by its own terms, on January 20, 2021. As a result, the issue raised in this appeal has been rendered moot. An opinion from this court can have no practical impact and provide no effectual relief. At our request, Quinn filed a letter brief addressing why the appeal should not be dismissed as moot, but she has not presented any reason why we should reach the merits of this appeal, and we can discern none from the record. Accordingly, we will dismiss the appeal. DISPOSITION The appeal is dismissed as moot. The parties shall bear their own costs on appeal.