Bunton

This matter involves an appeal and a cross-appeal in a wrongful death and personal injury action. Leslie Bunton, mother of plaintiff Tamara and wife of plaintiff Randy, was killed as the result of a collision involving a tank truck and tank-trailer combination owned and operated by defendant Arizona Pacific Tanklines. Daughter Tamara was injured in the accident.

Plaintiffs sued defendant, and a jury verdict was rendered in their favor in the total amount of $572,307. Thereafter, following defendant’s motion for new trial, the court entered an order conditionally granting a new trial. 1 Plaintiffs appeal from the order. Defendant cross-appeals from the judgment based on the verdict.

We vacate the order granting a new trial and affirm the judgment.

*213 Tardiness of New Trial Order

In their appeal from the new trial order, plaintiffs make two arguments: (1) That the order was void because it was not made within the appropriate time limitation, and (2) that there is no substantial evidence in the record to support the order. For reasons which follow we concur with the first contention. Consequently, it is unnecessary to examine the second contention.

Code of Civil…

As to the appeal itself, I concur in the opinion of the majority because its construction of Code of Civil Procedure section 660 seems plausible and hence probably correct, although—given the cosmic incomprehensibility of the section—one can never be absolutely sure.

It occurs to me that section 660 illustrates poignantly the maxim so useful in statutory construction—that if the Legislature had known what it meant, it would have said so.

It seems to me shameful, however, that large sums of money should change hands depending upon one’s views of what this dismal, opaque statute means.

The petition of defendant and appellant for a hearing by the Supreme Court was denied June 1, 1983. Mosk, J., and Kaus, J., were of the opinion that the petition should be granted.

This matter involves an appeal and a cross-appeal in a wrongful death and personal injury action. Leslie Bunton, mother of plaintiff Tamara and wife of plaintiff Randy, was killed as the result of a collision involving a tank truck and tank-trailer combination owned and operated by defendant Arizona Pacific Tanklines. Daughter Tamara was injured in the accident.

Plaintiffs sued defendant, and a jury verdict was rendered in their favor in the total amount of $572,307. Thereafter, following defendant's motion for new trial, the court entered an order conditionally granting a new trial. [1] Plaintiffs appeal from the order. Defendant cross-appeals from the judgment based on the verdict.

We vacate the order granting a new trial and affirm the judgment.

In their appeal from the new trial order, plaintiffs make two arguments: (1) That the order was void because it was not made within the appropriate time limitation, and (2) that there is no substantial evidence in the record to support the order. For reasons which follow we concur with the first contention. Consequently, it is unnecessary to examine the second contention.

Code of Civil Procedure section 657…