Henderson v. Pacific Gas & Electric Co.

Plaintiff Susan Henderson’s counsel went “all in” on a bad bet. First, he waited until the eleventh hour to begin opposing a summary judgment motion he had known about for months. Next, he assigned the preparation of that opposition to a paralegal whom he failed to supervise. Finally, learning that the paralegal had left the state with the opposition on the last business day before it had to be filed without his having seen it, he hoped for a miracle instead of immediately going to court to request an extension of time. Because these are inexcusable mistakes, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying Henderson’s request for discretionary relief under Code of Civil Procedure section 473, subdivision (b) (hereafter section 473(b)), from entry of summary judgment in favor of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E). We also agree, with the majority of courts who have decided the issue, that Henderson is not entitled to mandatory relief under section 473(b) because such relief is not available for summary judgments. Accordingly, we affirm the postjudgment order denying Henderson’s motion to vacate the summary judgment.

BACKGROUND

The underlying facts are irrelevant…