The Damages Reduction Did Not Restart The Appellate Engine, With the Abandonment Resulting In A Dismissal Of The Earlier Appeal—Which Was Dispositive.
In Corrales v. Corrales, Case No. D075507 (4th Dist., Div. 1 Apr. 21, 2020) (unpublished), an appellant previously filed an abandonment of an appeal of an attorney’s fees order. After an amended damages “merits” order was entered later, appellant sought to appeal again the fee order. The 4/3 DCA said, in effect, this was not gonna happen. The abandonment of the prior appeal resulted in a dismissal of the appeal (Code Civ. Proc., § 913), such that the time to appeal had elapsed long ago. The amended order did reopen things, because it only impacted the amount of damages—not a major event and one not related to the fee order—such that the prior abandonment was fatal.