California Discovery Motion Department -- Finger-wagging at judges division

     In yesterday's post, I reported on  Felton-Shepherd Industries, Inc. v. Delta Packaging Products, Inc. (August 19, 2008) ___ Cal.App.4th ___, where the Court of Appeal strictly applied the time limits in California's Discovery Act, reversing a trial court judge for bending the rules to allow a late discovery motion.  I also mentioned that in some of the smaller and more rural counties of this state, the judges tended to be a little relaxed in erring on the side of discovery.

    I should have mentioned that the Court of Appeal was extraordinary open in blasting the long-time small, rural county judge by name(well, I guess San Joaquin county isn't as small as it used to be)  for having "botched" the ruling.  We see this kind of personal criticism in published appellate rulings almost never -- the trial judge, while always identified in the introduction of an appellate decision, is thereafter usually cloaked in the anonymity of "the trial court." 

    As today's Legal Pad points out, this may be part of an ongoing  dispute between the Court of Appeal and Judge Peter Saiers.  As I had mentioned yesterday, published decisions on discovery matters are few and far between, and one has to wonder if this one was published because of who the judge was.