Jimenez

Plaintiffs sued the City of Oxnard and the Oxnard City Housing Authority for damages for personal injuries allegedly sustained when the car in which plaintiffs were riding was struck by a vehicle owned and operated by defendants. The city moved for summary judgment and an award of costs pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 1038 on grounds that the city and the housing authority are separate governmental entities and the vehicle which struck plaintiffs’ car was owned by the housing authority and operated by its employee at the time of the accident; the city therefore is not a proper party defendant and plaintiffs were so informed before they filed this action; accordingly, they did not act in good faith and with reasonable cause in suing the city. After the city filed its motion for summary judgment and costs, plaintiffs requested that the action be dismissed with prejudice as to the city (Code Civ. Proc., § 581, subd. 1); on September 22, 1981, the clerk entered the dismissal as requested. Thereafter, the city’s motion for summary judgment and award of defense costs was placed off calendar at its request.

On September 29, 1981, the city served and filed a verified…