(a) This chapter applies to a civil action and does not apply to a special proceeding except to the extent incorporated by reference in the special proceeding.
§ 583.120.Applicability of Chapter; Special Proceedings
Title 8. Of the Trial and Judgment In Civil Actions · Chapter 1.5. Dismissal for Delay in Prosecution · Article 1. Definitions and General Provisions · Enacted 1705 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 583.120 confines Chapter 1.5's dismissal-for-delay rules to civil actions, excludes special proceedings unless a proceeding's own statute incorporates the chapter, but lets a court apply the chapter to a special proceeding by rule or inherent authority when doing so isn't inconsistent with that proceeding's character.
Full Text of § 583.120
(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the court may, by rule or otherwise under inherent authority of the court, apply this chapter to a special proceeding or part of a special proceeding except to the extent such application would be inconsistent with the character of the special proceeding or the statute governing the special proceeding.
Plain-English Summary
The five-year and three-year deadlines that follow in this chapter were built for ordinary civil actions, and this section keeps them there by default. Special proceedings — the many statutory procedures that aren't ordinary civil lawsuits — fall outside the chapter unless the statute governing that specific proceeding says otherwise.
That default isn't absolute. A court can still choose, by rule or under its inherent authority, to apply this chapter's provisions to a special proceeding or part of one. The limit on that choice is fit: the court can't do it where applying the chapter would clash with the character of the proceeding or with the statute that governs it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this dismissal-for-delay chapter apply to special proceedings?
Not by default. Section 583.120 limits the chapter to civil actions, except to the extent a special proceeding's governing statute incorporates it by reference.
Can a court still choose to apply the chapter to a special proceeding?
Yes, by rule or under the court's inherent authority, so long as doing so isn't inconsistent with the character of the special proceeding or its governing statute.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1984, Ch. 1705, Sec. 5.
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
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