Luna

The superior court granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss the action pursuant to a provision of section 583 of the Code of Civil Procedure and rendered a judgment dismissing the action and awarding costs to the defendant. The plaintiff has appealed. The pertinent portion of section 583 is as follows: “The court may in its discretion dismiss any action for want of prosecution on motion of the defendant and after due notice to the plaintiff, whenever plaintiff has failed for two years after action is filed to bring such action to trial, . . .”

The facts to be considered in determining whether the superior court abused its discretion are these: 1. On December 27, 1957, the plaintiff filed his complaint in which he sought to quiet title and to obtain other relief as against the defendant with respect to certain real property. 2. On March 13, 1958, the defendant filed his answer. 3. A memo randum for setting the case for trial was filed by the plaintiff on March 27, 1958. 4. A pretrial conference was had on January 9, 1959, at which time a trial date of January 29, 1959, was set. 5. The joint pretrial statement, which was made a part of the pretrial conference order, set forth the…