Safeco Insurance v. Architeral Facades Unlimited, Inc.

This is an appeal from a judgment entered after the trial court granted defendants’, Denvick Drywall Systems and Michael James Le Deit, motions for summary judgment. After the trial court filed the order granting the motions, the plaintiff, Safeco Insurance Company of Illinois, filed a motion for reconsideration. Several days later, the defendants presented the trial court with a judgment which the court signed and filed. Despite the entry of judgment, the trial court went forward with the motion for reconsideration as originally scheduled. After the trial court denied the motion, the plaintiff filed its notice of appeal. The defendants filed a motion

in this court to dismiss the appeal as untimely and for sanctions. Finding the appeal untimely pursuant to rules 2 and 3 of the California Rules of Court, we will dismiss the appeal and deny the motion for sanctions.

Factual and Procedural Background

Plaintiff’s notice of appeal, filed February 4, 2004, purports to appeal “from a judgment entered on December 8, 2003, after an order granting a summary judgment motion.” The relevant sequence of events is as follows.

October 28, 2003: The trial court issues its order…