Motion for relief from order granting attorneys' fees and amended judgment
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TENTATIVE RULINGS July 16, 2026
# Case Name Tentative
1. 30-2021- Plaintiff Scott Palmer Holcomb moves for an order granting 01184189 him relief from: (1) the order of May 14, 2026 that granted Holcomb vs. Aliso defendants’ motion for attorneys’ fees on appeal; and (2) Villas the amended judgment entered on May 29, 2026. Plaintiff Condominium contends that he could not respond to the motion for fees because he was recovering from injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident. Defendants oppose the motion.
Plaintiff’s authority for the requested relief is subdivision (b) of Code of Civil Procedure section 473. That provision provides in relevant part:
The court may, upon any terms as may be just, relieve a party or the party’s legal representative from a judgment, dismissal, order, or other proceeding taken against the party through the party’s mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. Application for this relief shall be
accompanied by a copy of the answer or other pleading proposed to be filed therein, otherwise the application shall not be granted, and shall be made within a reasonable time, in no case exceeding six months, after the judgment, dismissal, order, or proceeding was taken.
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Plaintiff contends that the motion was granted because it was unopposed and defendants’ request for fees was not given sufficient scrutiny. He states that he wishes to oppose the motion and challenge some of the underlying billing submitted by defense counsel, which he contends was not spent on the appeal.
In support of his motion, plaintiff offers his own declaration and several exhibits that include a chronology of events relating to his motor vehicle accident and doctors’ appointments, doctors’ appointment reminders, and a letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
However, plaintiff never declares that he was too incapacitated to prepare an opposition to the motion or that he contacted defense counsel to ask for a continuance of the hearing on the motion. Nor does he deny receiving the motion. In fact, as defendants point out, plaintiff did not do anything about the motion until after the amended judgment was entered and served. Additionally, plaintiff did not submit a proposed opposition to the motion for attorneys’ fees with his moving papers.
With their opposition, defendants have submitted the declaration of defense counsel, who declares that, during the same timeframe that plaintiff contends he was incapacitated, he was filing and serving documents in another case that he has with defendants and defense counsel. Defendants rightly contend that these actions belie plaintiff’s contentions of incapacity.
Accordingly, the motion of plaintiff Scott Palmer Holcomb for an order granting him relief from the order of May 14, 2026 that granted defendants’ motion for attorneys’ fees on appeal and the amended judgment entered on May 29, 2026 is DENIED.