Brokaw v. Morey and Upton CA4/3

Filed 6/21/22 Brokaw v. Morey and Upton CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion flas not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

DENNIS BROKAW et al.,

Plaintiffs and Appellants, G061003

V. (Super. Ct. No. 30-2017-00897307)

MOREY AND UPTON, LLP, et al., OPINION

Defendants and Respondents.

Appeal from an order of the Superior Court of Orange County, Fred W. Slaughter, Judge. Dismissed. Dahl Law Firm and Richard Arthur Dahl for Plaintiffs and Appellants. Gaglione, Dolan & Kaplan and Robert T. Dolan for Defendants and Respondents.

Dennis and Bonnie Brokaw (the Brokaws) appeal from the trial court's 1 denial of their motion to reconsider a denial of their request to vacate Bonnie' s. voluntary dismissal. We dismiss because we agree with the parties that no appealable order is presented.

FACTS The Brokaws filed the underlying lawsuit against Morey and Upton, LLP, who represented them in an earlier lawsuit arising out of personal injuries sustained by Dennis. In this lawsuit, Bonnie, through her counsel, filed a 2018 request to dismiss her claim without prejudice, which the trial court clerk entered immediately. In 2018 and 2021, respectively, Bonnie twice unsuccessfully moved to 2 vacate her voluntary dismissal. The trial court also denied the Brokaws' subsequent motion for reconsideration based on Code of Civil Procedure section 1008, subdivision (a). (All further statutory references are to the Code of Civil Procedure.) Relevant here, a notice of entry of the court's denial of the second motion to vacate was served on the Brokaws on August 30, 2021, followed two months later by service of the notice of the order denying reconsideration on November 5. The Brokaws filed their notice of appeal on December 30, 2021. Both that document and their subsequently filed civil case information statement only identified the trial court's denial of their reconsideration motion as the order challenged on appeal. We requested briefing on whether there is an appealable order before us. In response, the Brokaws acknowledge no appealable order has been presented as Bonnie's voluntary