Reddy

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff and appellant Lakshmi Reddy appeals from (1) the judgment dismissing

her complaint in this action, based on her former counsel’s failure to pursue the court-

ordered arbitration of her wrongful termination, other employment-, and breach-of-

contract-related claims against defendant and respondent National University (NU)

(Code Civ. Proc., § 1281.2),1 and (2) the postjudgment order denying her motion to set

aside the judgment of dismissal, based on her former counsel’s failure to pursue the

arbitration. (§ 473, subd. (b).) We reverse the judgment dismissing Reddy’s action.

Thus, whether the trial court erroneously denied Reddy’s postjudgment motion to set

aside the judgment of dismissal (ibid.) is moot, and we do not address the merits of that

motion.

As we explain, the trial court acted in excess of its jurisdiction, or its statutory

authority, in dismissing Reddy’s action against NU. (Blake v. Ecker (2001)

93 Cal.App.4th 728, 737-738 (Blake), disapproved on other grounds in Le Francois v.

Goel (2005) 35 Cal.4th 1094, 1107.) At the time of the November 21, 2019 dismissal

order, the action was stayed pending the parties’ completion of the…