Fonseca v. City of Gilroy

In Fonseca v. City of Gilroy (2007) 148 Cal.App.4th 1174, the respondent filed in the appellate court a motion to dismiss the appeal for lack of appealability. The motion asserted the plaintiffs' voluntary dismissal of their third through eighth causes of action without prejudice to facilitate the entry of a final judgment on the first two causes of action violated the one final judgment rule because the dismissed causes of action remained subject to revival. (Id. at pp. 1189-1190, fn. 17.) Fonseca considered the motion and directed plaintiffs to stipulate either that the prior dismissal of the remaining causes of action was to be deemed with prejudice or that they unequivocally waived any right to a trial or hearing on these causes of action; otherwise the appeal would be dismissed. (Fonseca, supra, 148 Cal.App.4th at p. 1190, fn. 17.) Plaintiffs then stipulated to unequivocally waive a trial or hearing on the dismissed causes of action. Thus, the Fonseca court's appellate jurisdiction was preserved and it denied the motion to dismiss the appeal. (Ibid.)