Laraway

John Laraway (petitioner) sought certain public records from the Pasadena Unified School District (District). He petitioned for a writ of mandamus and prohibition, and for injunctive and declaratory relief, against District, Vera Vignes, District’s superintendent, and William Deeb, District’s acting assistant superintendent of school (collectively respondent).

The trial court, for the most part, denied petitioner’s petition (it granted one aspect of his request for declaratory relief), and entered an order to that effect, from which the parties never appealed. That order resolved all issues between the parties, did not direct or contemplate the preparation of any further order or judgment, and was thus an appealable, final order.

After the time within which to appeal this final, appealable order had passed, the parties caused the trial court to enter a judgment to the same effect as the order, and then both petitioner and respondent purported to appeal or cross-appeal from that judgment. Because the parties did not file a timely notice of appeal from the appealable order, we must dismiss the appeal and cross-appeal from the subsequent judgment.

Factual and Procedural…