Usher

Plaintiff appeals from an order vacating a judgment which was based on an arbitration award.

Facts

In mandatory judicial arbitration proceedings, plaintiff was awarded $12,000 damages for personal injuries sustained in an automobile accident. The arbitration award was filed on June 6, 1980. Because the clerk’s file contained no request for trial, judgment was entered on June 26, pursuant to rule 1615(c).

On July 7 the defendant filed a motion under section 473 to set aside the judgment on the ground that the failure to file the request for trial was the result of mistake, inadvertence and excusable neglect. Attached to the motion were declarations of Leona Black, arbitration administrator for the superior court in Indio, and Esther Lopez, an employee of defendant’s trial attorneys. These declarations stated that Ms. Lopez delivered a “Notice of Rejection of Award of Arbitration and Request for Trial De Novo” to Ms. Black on or about June 10, well within the 20-day period provided for request of trial by rule 1615(c), but that the above document was lost.

The trial court granted defendant’s motion and vacated the judgment in favor of plaintiff.

Inapplicability of…