Greene

On August 27, 1987, Judge McCullum signed an order extending the five-year deadline within which cases must be brought to trial, for this case and others, to March 18, 1988. This case was assigned to Judge Bartalini for trial on March 14, 1988, and he dismissed the case for failure to bring it to trial within five years. Plaintiff appeals.

Facts and Procedural History

The roof of Josephine Greene’s house leaked. The named defendants in this lawsuit are Greene’s insurance company (State Farm Fire & Casualty Company), an adjustor for the insurance company (Sandra Harris), the contractor (Robert C. Allen Company) whose crew put a tarp on Greene’s roof as a temporary repair, allegedly making nail holes in the roof which let in even more water, and Roger Bacon, the employee of the contractor responsible for the temporary repair. The substantive issue raised by the lawsuit is which of the parties to the suit is or are responsible for the damages caused by the leaking roof.

Greene filed her original complaint in Alameda County Superior Court on April 13, 1982. Under Code of Civil Procedure section 583, subdivision (b), she had until April 13, 1987, to bring her action to…