Stephan

JH. L. Stephan, doing business as Downey Credit Service, filed the original action based on common counts, including an open book account and an account stated. After the trial court granted defendants’s motion to dismiss (Code Civ. Proc., § 583, subd. (a)) for failure to bring the matter to trial within the two-year period, plaintiff filed a second action based solely on the open book account and account stated within the applicable four-year period of the statute of limitations. (Code Civ. Proc., § 337.) The trial court granted defendants’ motion to dismiss the second action and plaintiff has appealed from both orders of dismissal; the appeals have been consolidated.

Plaintiff contends in his first appeal that the trial court abused its discretion in granting defendants’ motion to dismiss the original action.

Plaintiff’s original action was filed November 24, 1967. A trial date was scheduled for January 18, 1969, but the matter was taken off calendar because defendants Erickson, Berlu and American were not served with proper notice. On January 14, 1969, these defendants demanded a bill of particulars which plaintiff filed on January 28, 1969. On February 28, 1969,…