In Re Marriage of Dunmore

Kathleen Dunmore (Kathleen) appeals from an order of dismissal, under Code of Civil Procedure sections 583.310-583.360, for failure to bring to trial within five years after the action was commenced the issues remaining after dissolution of her marriage to Sidney Dunmore (Sidney).

A judgment dissolving the status of the marriage was entered prior to the expiration of five years from commencement of the action. The judgment followed an uncontested, bifurcated proceeding, as authorized by Family Code section 2337. There remained to be resolved issues of child support, spousal support and property.

The trial court ruled that the bifurcated proceeding did not constitute a “trial” within the meaning of the dismissal statutes because it was uncontested. Kathleen claims that dismissal is barred under section 583.161, subdivision (c), which provides that a petition for dissolution of the marriage shall not be dismissed if “a separate trial on the issue of the status of the marriage has been conducted pursuant to Section 2337 of the Family Code.”

We agree. We will conclude that “trial," as used in section 583.161, includes an adjudication of the status of the marriage in a…