Davis v. Superior Court of Los Angeles County
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After real party in interest obtained an arbitration award against petitioner, an indigent, self-represented litigant, real party in interest sought to enforce his resulting money judgment by filing an application to take her judgment debtor examination. Petitioner filed ex parte applications and a motion to quash the order requiring her to appear for the judgment debtor examination. The superior court denied petitioner's attempts to quash the order, but did not honor petitioner's timely request for a court reporter and did not allow petitioner to appear at hearings telephonically. Petitioner ultimately failed to appear at the judgment debtor examination and the superior court issued a bench warrant for her arrest. Petitioner then sought a writ of mandate.
The Court of Appeals granted the writ and held that Supreme Court precedent and the California Rules of Court require trial courts to protect the right to appellate review by ensuring there is a complete record of the proceedings, and they encourage trial courts to allow all litigants, including those representing themselves, to participate in court proceedings telephonically. In this case, the court held that the superior court's actions were inconsistent with these principles. Therefore, the court directed the superior court to allow petitioner to have a court reporter at the hearings on her motions and to appear at those hearings telephonically.
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