Pacific Attorney Group v. Akbari CA2/8

DISCUSSION

A trial court may, under certain circumstances, invoke its limited, inherent discretionary power to dismiss claims with prejudice. (Lyons v. Wickhorst (1986) 42 Cal.3d 911, 915.) Among other bases, a trial court can dismiss a claim if the plaintiff has failed to diligently prosecute its case. (Ibid.) We review discretionary dismissals for abuse of discretion. (Blank v. Kirwan (1985) 39 Cal.3d 311, 331.) The complaining party has the burden of establishing an abuse of discretion. (Denham v. Superior Court (1970) 2 Cal.3d 557, 566.) A judgment or order from a trial court is presumed correct on appeal. (Denham v. Superior Court, supra, 2 Cal.3d at p. 564.) An appellant must affirmatively prove error. (Ibid.) Similarly, an appellant has the burden of providing an adequate record to the appellate court. (Foust v. San Jose Construction Co., Inc. (2011) 198 Cal.App.4th 181, 187.) As a result, “if the record is inadequate for meaningful review, the appellant defaults and the decision of the trial court should be affirmed.” (Ibid.) As an initial matter, Plaintiffs have appealed from an order dismissing their suit with prejudice, and they had not secured a judgment prior to…