City of Los Angeles v. Gleneagle Dev. Co

In City of Los Angeles v. Gleneagle Dev. Co. (1976) 62 Cal.App.3d 543, the court reversed, finding an abuse of discretion when the trial court granted a section 583, subdivision (a), dismissal against the plaintiff city. It cited the finding that the office handling the case for the city had a heavy case load, was seriously understaffed and the case had been handled by a number of different attorneys. The court further found no prejudice caused by appellant's delay. The court stated: "Discretion is abused whenever, in its exercise, the court exceeds the bounds of reason, all of the circumstances before it being considered." (Id. at p. 560, quoting from Loomis v. Loomis (1960) 181 Cal.App.2d 345.) It further stated that: ". . . in the absence of prejudice to defendants, attributable to unreasonable delays by plaintiff, the probability of a miscarriage of justice is greater where a trial on its merits is denied than it is where plaintiff is permitted to proceed." (Id. at p. 563.)