Santa Ana : Court Ordered to Cut Red Tape, Hold Hearing
In an opinion sharply critical of legal red tape, a state appellate court has ordered the Orange County Superior Court to hold a hearing quickly on a pretrial motion in a lawsuit over a traffic accident.
The 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana Thursday ordered the hearing in a lawsuit filed by 81-year-old Florence Frisch of Laguna Hills. Frisch alleged that she was injured in an accident Dec. 8, 1986, involving a car owned by Leisure World. Because of her age, she was given an early trial date of Nov. 2.
When lawyers for Professional Community Management Inc., Leisure World’s property management firm, sought a hearing on a pretrial motion, they were told the earliest date available was Nov. 18, more than two weeks after the trial date.
The opinion, written by Justice Thomas F. Crosby Jr., criticized “inflexible” Superior Court procedures that deprived litigants of their rights.
Crosby urged the court to “re-examine” its policy on scheduling hearings to prevent repeat instances.
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