This chapter applies to a motion for dismissal made in an action commenced before, on, or after the effective date of this chapter, except that in the case of an action commenced before the effective date of this chapter:
§ 583.160.Applicability to Motion In Action Commenced On Or Before Effective Date of Chapter, Exceptions
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 583.160 applies Chapter 1.5's dismissal rules to motions made in actions filed before, on, or after the chapter's 1985 effective date, but grandfathers in prior law for dismissal motions noticed within a year after that date and leaves untouched any dismissal order already entered before then.
Full Text of § 583.160
(a) A motion for dismissal made pursuant to notice given before, on, or within one year after the effective date of this chapter is governed by the applicable law in effect immediately before the effective date and for this purpose the law in effect immediately before the effective date continues in effect.
(b) This chapter does not affect an order dismissing an action made before the effective date of this chapter.
Plain-English Summary
When Chapter 1.5 replaced the older dismissal-for-delay statutes, it needed transitional rules to handle cases already pending. This section is largely of historical interest now, decades after the chapter took effect, but it establishes the framework: the chapter generally applies to a dismissal motion whether the underlying action was commenced before, on, or after the effective date.
The exception covers actions that were already pending when the chapter took effect. A dismissal motion noticed before, on, or within one year after the effective date is governed instead by the law that applied immediately before the chapter — meaning the older statutes stayed in force for that transitional window. And any dismissal order already entered before the effective date remains untouched by the new chapter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this chapter apply to actions filed before it took effect?
Generally yes, except that a motion for dismissal noticed within one year after the effective date in an action commenced before that date is governed by the prior law instead.
Did this chapter reopen dismissal orders entered before it took effect?
No, § 583.160(b) leaves those earlier orders unaffected.
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
Also known as: transitional rule dismissal chapter 1.5 californiaeffective date dismissal for delay statute california