Facts
- Fairmont Insurance Company issued a workers’ compensation policy to Ken Stendell Construction, Inc. for February 6, 1987 to January 1, 1988.
- An employee was injured on December 9, 1987 and filed a workers’ compensation claim the next month.
- A coverage/claims-handling dispute led Stendell to file a bad-faith insurance action against Fairmont in superior court.
- The parties bifurcated trial to try Fairmont’s defenses first; the trial court ruled for Fairmont.
- The Court of Appeal reversed and remanded for a trial on the merits.
- After remand, Stendell served discovery requests; Fairmont objected that discovery was untimely under Code of Civil Procedure § 2024(a)’s discovery cutoff.
- The superior court granted Stendell’s motion to compel, treating discovery as reopened for the new trial.
- The Court of Appeal issued writ relief directing the superior court to deny the motion, reasoning the cutoff remained tied to the date initially set for the original trial.
- The California Supreme Court granted review to resolve conflicting appellate interpretations of § 2024(a) following mistrial, new-trial orders, or remand for new trial.
Issues
- Under Code of Civil Procedure § 2024(a), after a mistrial, an order granting a new trial, or a remand for new trial after reversal, is the discovery cutoff measured from the date initially set for the original trial or from the date initially set for the new trial?
Decision
- The California Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeal.
- The Court held that, when a new trial is ordered (including after appellate reversal and remand), the last date for completing discovery is 15 days before the date initially set for the new trial.
- The superior court therefore could compel discovery responses without requiring Stendell to obtain leave of court on a showing of good cause merely because a prior trial had occurred.
Legal Principles
- For purposes of Code of Civil Procedure § 2024(a), a “new trial” (after mistrial, order granting a new trial, or remand for new trial) is treated as a separate trial setting for calculating the discovery cutoff.
- The statutory bar on reopening discovery due to continuance or postponement applies to routine changes to the same trial setting, not to a distinct new trial ordered after termination of the prior trial or reversal on appeal.
- After a new trial is ordered, discovery is available as of right until 15 days before the date initially set for the new trial, subject to the court’s ordinary authority to manage discovery.
Conclusion
The Supreme Court of California held that a new trial resets the discovery period under Code of Civil Procedure § 2024(a), so the cutoff is calculated from the date initially set for the new trial rather than the original trial date.