Alaoui

I. BACKGROUND

As alleged in the complaint, plaintiff and appellant Aziz Alaoui (Alaoui) and defendant and respondent Yevgeniy Vaynerman (Vaynerman) were involved in an automobile collision in April 2016. Approximately two years later, Alaoui filed a complaint against Vaynerman alleging a single cause of action for negligence. Vaynerman answered the complaint, and the record suggests the parties engaged in an unspecified amount of discovery. The trial court held a final status conference in February 2020. Neither party appeared. The matter was called for trial early the following month. Vaynerman was present; Alaoui was not. The trial court issued a minute order dismissing Alaoui’s complaint without prejudice pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 581, subdivision (b)(5).1 The minute order dismissing the complaint is not signed, and the record contains no judgment of dismissal. Alaoui subsequently filed a motion to set aside the dismissal under Code of Civil Procedure section 473, which argued he was entitled to relief because his failure to appear was due to his attorney’s excusable neglect. Alaoui’s attorney, D. Hess Panah (Panah), provided a declaration asserting Panah’s…