Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
In an Appeal (Unlimited Civil), the Appellants Notice Designating Record on Appeal, asks, in Part 2 (1st Page) , the 1st box states I elect to proceed without a record of the oral proceedings.
If I use that option, Can I just use the court's Minute Order as to what was said in the proceeding, because the Judge stated in that order that the case was a Personal Injury case with a 2 year SOL, rather than a Breach of Written Contract case (that carried a 4 year SOL). And that shows that the court erred, because the Cause of action in the comlaint is Breach of Written Contract (resulting in physical injury).
2 Answers from Attorneys
It is not a good idea to limit yourself when preparing the record on an appeal. I can tell you from reading your post that your case reeks of physical injury, since breach of contract does not result in physical injury, and it sounds like you slapped a different label on your case to get around the shorter statute of limitation for physical injury. With such an attempt, you are going to need more than just a minute order and your say so in the Court of Appeal.
The minute order is not proof of what was said in the courtroom. If you need to prove what was said, you will need the reporter's transcript. It's rarely safe to omit that transcript from the record. Even if you don't think you'll need it, you could realize later that you do. I wouldn't take that chance.
And Mr. Roach is right. When a court decides which limitations period to use, it considers the complaint's substance. A personal injury claim will get the two-year statute even if it's labeled as a breach of contract contract claim.
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