(a) The superior court may dismiss the appeal if the appealing party does not appear at the hearing or if the appeal is not heard within one year from the date of filing the notice of appeal with the clerk of the small claims court.
§ 116.795.Dismissal of appeal
Title 1. Organization and Jurisdiction · Chapter 5.5. Small Claims Court · Article 7. Motion to Vacate, Appeal, and Related Matters · Enacted 1990 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 116.795 lets the superior court dismiss a small claims appeal if the appealing party fails to appear at the hearing or the appeal is not heard within one year of filing the notice of appeal, and restores the small claims court’s original jurisdiction once that dismissal occurs.
Full Text of § 116.795
(b) Upon dismissal of an appeal by the superior court, the small claims court shall thereafter have the same jurisdiction as if no appeal had been filed.
Plain-English Summary
Section 116.795(a) gives the superior court two independent grounds to dismiss a small claims appeal: the appealing party’s failure to appear at the hearing, or the appeal not being heard within one year from the date the notice of appeal was filed with the small claims clerk.
Subdivision (b) explains what happens next — once the superior court dismisses the appeal, the small claims court regains the same jurisdiction it would have had if no appeal had ever been filed, allowing enforcement to proceed as though the small claims judgment had never been appealed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a small claims appeal be dismissed if it drags on too long?
Yes. Section 116.795(a) lets the superior court dismiss the appeal if it is not heard within one year from the date the notice of appeal was filed.
What happens to the original small claims judgment if the appeal is dismissed?
Section 116.795(b) restores the small claims court’s jurisdiction as if no appeal had been filed, once the superior court dismisses the appeal.
Amendment History
Added Stats 1990 ch 1305 § 3 (SB 2627).
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: small claims appeal dismissed californiaappeal not heard within a year small claims