People v. $20,000 United States Currency

—While the substantive nature of this action is forfeiture, this appeal is concerned solely with the narrowly circumscribed question of whether the time granted to file an amended petition was extended by five days under the provisions of Code of Civil Procedure section 1013. The ruling in question granted a motion for judgment on the pleadings with leave to amend. Notice of that ruling was mailed to the losing party, who had also been present through an attorney at the time of the ruling. The trial court held that the time was not extended by mailing the notice of the ruling; instead, notice of the ruling was waived by counsel’s presence at the hearing, so that the time to amend therefore ran from the date of the hearing. We disagree and hold that the time to file an amended pleading was extended for five days. Since an amended pleading had been timely filed within the extended time period, we shall reverse.

Procedural Background

The People, acting through the District Attorney of Butte County, filed a petition under Health and Safety Code section 11470 et seq. for the forfeiture *686 of $20,000 and other items seized by officers of the State Bureau of Narcotics…