Moore

Plaintiff's counsel and defendants' counsel agreed to multiple extensions of plaintiff's time to file a motion for attorney fees on appeal, while they were trying to settle the amount owed. Under California Rules of Court, rule 3.1702(c)(2), any stipulation to extend the time for filing a motion for attorney fees on appeal must be filed with the court before the original time has expired. Plaintiff's counsel, however, failed to file a written stipulation within this time. When negotiations broke down, plaintiff's counsel finally filed a motion for attorney fees on appeal. Defendants' counsel did not deny granting several extensions of time; nevertheless, he argued that the motion was time-barred. The trial court agreed, and it therefore denied the motion for attorney fees.

Plaintiff's counsel then filed a motion for relief from default under Code of Civil Procedure section 473 (section 473). The trial court denied this motion, too, for two reasons: (1) The failure to file a written stipulation in a timely manner was inexcusable neglect; and (2) the motion for relief from default under section 473 was "an improper attempt to circumvent" the requirements applicable to a…