The Supreme Court’s opinion today in Even Zohar Construction and Remodeling, Inc. v. Bellaire Townhouses, LLC makes it a bit more difficult for defendants in civil cases to get relief from default. In a unanimous decision written by Justice Kathryn Werdegar, the court holds that a renewed application for relief under Code of Civil Procedure section 473 based on attorney fault must comply with Code of Civil Procedure section 1008’s requirement of “showing what ‘new or different facts, circumstances, or law are claimed’ . . . to justify the renewed application, and show[ing] diligence with a satisfactory explanation for not presenting the new or different information earlier.”
The court construes the two statutes and finds them to not be in conflict. By the way, if you’re looking for a decision interpreting what “whenever” means, this opinion is for you.
The Supreme Court affirms the Second District, Division Four, Court of Appeal, which had reversed a superior court order granting relief from default. It also disapproves three Court of Appeal opinions: a 2010 opinion from the Sixth District (a case in which the Supreme Court denied review, with Justice Carol Corrigan recording a vote to grant), a 2010 opinion from the Fourth District, Division Two (review was also denied in that case), and a 2002 opinion from the Second District, Division Seven (which the Supreme Court had already disapproved once before).
