Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.1340 · Article 3. Motions to Dismiss
Motion for discretionary dismissal after two years for delay in prosecution
Text — As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)
(a) Discretionary dismissal two years after filing
The court on its own motion or on motion of the defendant may dismiss an action under Code of Civil Procedure sections 583.410-583.430 for delay in prosecution if the action has not been brought to trial or conditionally settled within two years after the action was commenced against the defendant.
(b) Notice of court's intention to dismiss
If the court intends to dismiss an action on its own motion, the clerk must set a hearing on the dismissal and send notice to all parties at least 20 days before the hearing date.
(c) Definition of "conditionally settled"
"Conditionally settled" means:
(1) A settlement agreement conditions dismissal on the satisfactory completion of specified terms that are not to be fully performed within two years after the filing of the case; and
(2) Notice of the settlement is filed with the court as provided in rule 3.1385.
Notes and commentary — not rule text
History
(Subd (a) amended effective January 1, 2007.)
(Subd (b) amended effective January 1, 2016; adopted as part of subd (a) effective January 1, 1990; previously amended and lettered as subd (b) effective January 1, 2007.)
(Subd (c) amended and lettered effective January 1, 2007; adopted as part of Subd (a) effective January 1, 1990.)
Rule 3.1340 amended effective January 1, 2016; adopted as rule 372 effective January 1, 1990; previously amended and renumbered as rule 3.1340 effective January 1, 2007.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As posted by the Judicial Council of California (read October 22, 2026)
- Official file
- https://courts.ca.gov/cms/rules/index/three/rule3_1340
- Text hash
- sha256 180ebfe840896bc192722e8c797061e9971412c3062a8d9d176a2c0b5eb3b577
- Composed by
- compose_crc.py 2026-10-22: the Judicial Council's rule pages read paragraph by paragraph; verify_crc.py's second reading of the Council's per-title PDFs finds every paragraph
This rule cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.