Tomorrow morning, the Supreme Court will file its opinions in Gaines v. Fidelity National Title Insurance Company and People v. Garcia. These will be the last decisions for cases argued on the December calendar.
Garcia raises the issue whether the defendant committed two burglaries, or only one, when he entered a business with the intent to commit a robbery, then took the robbery victim to the bathroom in the back of the business with the intent to rape her. Only four justices voted for review in July 2014 — Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye and Justices Kathryn Werdegar, Carol Corrigan, and Goodwin Liu.
In Gaines, the court will answer the question: was the action properly dismissed for the failure to bring it to trial within five years or should the period during which the action was stayed for purposes of mediation have been excluded under Code of Civil Procedure section 583.340, subdivision (b) or (c)?
Last summer, the court ordered supplemental briefing on these questions: 1. Did the trial court’s April 3, 2008 order “striking the current Trial Date of September 22, 2008” constitute a stay of the “trial of the action” under Code of Civil Procedure, section 583.340, subdivision (b)? 2. What factors distinguish between a stay of trial and a continuance of trial for purposes Code of Civil Procedure, section 583.340, subdivision (b)?
The opinions can be viewed tomorrow starting at 10:00 a.m.
