LASC: SUPERIOR COURT OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY ANNOUNCES NEW PROCEDURE REGARDING NOTICES OF SETTLEMENT

The Court Will Dismiss Without Prejudice While Retaining Jurisdiction to Enforce Settlement in More Cases

Effective May 23, 2025, the Superior Court of Los Angeles County will adopt a new procedure when a Notice of Settlement (NOS) is filed in certain civil case types to address a significant growth in unlimited civil filings, which have increased by 48% since 2008. The enhanced process is one of several measures the Court will implement to manage rising caseloads, reduce delays, and promote efficient resolution across all civil case types.

How It Works:

A NOS filed on the mandatory-use JCC Form CM-200 identifies whether the settlement is “unconditional” or “conditional.” A NOS identifying a settlement as unconditional states that a request for dismissal will be filed
within 45 days.

Under a recent modification to California Code of Civil Procedure section 664.6, the Court may now dismiss a case, retaining jurisdiction to enforce a settlement, when the NOS identifies the settlement as “conditional” with or without the parties’ stipulation.

Under the Court’s new process, irrespective of the conditional/unconditional identification, the Court will set an Order to Show Cause (OSC) re Dismissal hearing approximately 60 calendar days following the filing of a NOS. If the case is dismissed by the date of the OSC hearing based upon plaintiff’s request for dismissal of the entire action, that hearing will go off calendar. If the case is not dismissed, the Court will deem any “unconditional” NOS as “conditional.” It will dismiss the case without prejudice, retaining jurisdiction to enforce the settlement unless a party shows good cause at the hearing why such dismissal should not occur.

This new process will not apply to complex civil cases in the Court’s Spring Street Courthouse or to settlements requiring Court approval.

Under this process, a party may still seek to dismiss a case with prejudice after the Court has dismissed it without prejudice.

This enhanced process is designed to promote consistency across civil case types, encourage timely settlement follow-through, and ensure the effective use of judicial resources.

Attorneys are encouraged to review Code of Civil Procedure Section 664.6 for more information.

You can view the full notice here.