Latest Case: Rowan v. Kirkpatrick (Civil Procedure)

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Rowan v. Kirkpatrick

Docket: 160568

Opinion Date: September 4, 2020

Judge: Fujisaki

Areas of Law: Civil Procedure

In January 2020, Rowan and Kirkpatrick sought civil harassment restraining orders against one another. Rowan After hearings, the court granted Rowan’s restraining order request, dismissed Kirkpatrick’s request (due to her failure to appear at the hearing), and granted Rowan’s motion to declare Kirkpatrick a vexatious litigant. On February 25, Rowan served Kirkpatrick with notice of entry of the order dismissing Kirkpatrick’s restraining order request. On February 26, Rowan served Kirkpatrick with notice of entry of the order granting Rowan’s restraining order request. On March 6, Rowan served Kirkpatrick with notice of entry of the order granting Rowan’s vexatious litigant motion. On March 17, the Napa County Superior Court announced that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it would reduce court operations, reducing calendars to time-sensitive and public safety matters. The court was closed, March 18-May 29, 2020; under Government Code 68115(a)(4), and superior court general orders, the days of closure were deemed “holidays.” The court of appeal issued emergency and implementation orders extending the deadlines under the California Rules of Court by 30 days for events occurring within specified time frames. The court of appeal held that Kirkpatrick’s July 14, 2020 notice of appeal was untimely; the last day for Kirkpatrick to file a timely notice of appeal from the first two orders was June 1, the day the superior court reopened, and the last day to file a timely appeal from the third order was June 4.