Kurwa v. Kislinger

Summary

The Supreme Court of California modified its December 18, 2017 opinion in Kurwa v. Kislinger concerning whether an interlocutory judgment became appealable after the plaintiff dismissed a remaining defamation claim. The court clarified that the 2010 judgment was not final because it disposed of fewer than all causes of action and that the dismissal did not retroactively make the judgment appealable; the modifications did not affect the judgment.

Holdings

1. A voluntary dismissal of a remaining cause of action did not transform the 2010 interlocutory judgment, which disposed of fewer than all causes of action, into an appealable final judgment.
2. The later dismissal did not delay the time for appealing the 2010 judgment; even assuming the dismissal could have altered the judgment's character, the deadline to appeal had already expired.

Questions Presented

1. Whether a plaintiff's voluntary dismissal of a remaining cause of action transforms an earlier interlocutory judgment disposing of fewer than all causes of action into an appealable final judgment.
2. Whether the time to appeal the 2010 judgment was delayed until the later dismissal of the defamation claim.

Disposition

other