Nye

The plaintiff and appellant, Carol A. Nye, appeals from an

order granting respondent’s motion to dismiss for failure to prosecute. (Code Civ. Proc., § 583.410; all further code citations are to the Code of Civil Procedure.)

We conclude that the trial court acted within the proper exercise of its discretion in dismissing the action, and affirm.

Factual and Procedural Summary

Appellant was involved in an automobile accident in April 1984. She brought this action against the respondent, 20th Century Insurance Company, her insurance carrier, after it refused to replace her damaged engine with a new engine.

The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on September 12, 1984. Respondent demurred to the original complaint. An amended complaint was filed on December 28, 1984, and respondent filed its answer on January 17, 1985.

Some two and one-half years later, on August 24, 1987, appellant filed an at-issue memorandum, effectively placing the case on the court’s schedule of matters ready to be set for conference and trial. The parties engaged in some discovery (two sets of requests for admissions propounded by respondent, interrogatories by respondent and two…