Case Transferred To Superior Court Appellate Division For Review.
Stauff v. Hartman, Case No. B266777 (2d Dist., Div. 7 Jan. 17, 2017) (unpublished) is a case starting out in small claims court and then reclassified to an unlimited case based on a cross-complaint and, then after a lot of “litigation dust settled,” reclassified to a limited civil case. However, along the way, two aligned parties obtained $95,000 in attorney’s fees based on prevailing through a SLAPP motion. The losing parties appealed to the Court of Appeal.
The Court of Appeal decided that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal based on the final reclassification to a limited civil case. However, based on Government Code section and pertinent case law thereunder, the matter was transferred for consideration by the superior court’s appellate division.