In Cordova v. Vons Grocery Co. (1987) 196 Cal. App. 3d 1526, the trial was set for a date about eight months shy of the mandatory dismissal deadline. The parties thereafter agreed to stipulate to a continuance, but did not offer the stipulation to the court until the date set for trial. The court refused to accept the stipulation; the parties were unable to proceed; and so the court dismissed the case on its own motion for delay in prosecution. The plaintiff filed a motion for reconsideration supported by declarations and exhibits setting out her position in some detail. The defendant filed no opposition. The court denied the motion and entered a judgment of dismissal. On appeal, the plaintiff challenged the dismissal as a violation of her due process right to notice and an opportunity to be heard. The appellate court concluded, however, that the lower court's "unorthodox procedure" did not require reversal of the judgment. It explained that an individual is entitled to due process before he or she may be deprived of a fundamental interest. The dismissal in Cordova was effective not when the court announced the action was dismissed, but two months later when judgment of dismissal was entered, following the court's denial of the motion for reconsideration. "On that motion for reconsideration plaintiff was given the opportunity to demonstrate to the court that the action should not be dismissed. Only after denial of the motion to reconsider was judgment of dismissal entered. Thus, a hearing was afforded plaintiff on the propriety of the dismissal before it became effective; plaintiff was given the opportunity to be heard at a meaningful time and in a meaningful way. For purposes of due process, we consider it irrelevant that the hearing was given in conjunction with motion for reconsideration initiated by plaintiff rather than on motion to dismiss noticed by the court. The important factor is that plaintiff was given a hearing on the issue of dismissal before the action was dismissed." (Cordova, supra, 196 Cal. App. 3d at pp. 1531-1532.) The court in Cordova then went on to conclude the motion to dismiss should not have been granted because the plaintiff had been diligent in preparing for trial; the failure to obtain a continuance was attributable to a miscommunication by the defendant; and the defendant would not have been prejudiced by delaying the trial date. (Cordova, supra, 196 Cal. App. 3d at pp. 1535-1536.)