(a) An action shall be dismissed by the court on its own motion or on motion of the defendant, after notice to the parties, if the action is not brought to trial within the time prescribed in this article.
§ 583.360.Dismissal By Court Or On Motion of Defendant If Action Not Timely Brought For Trial
Title 8. Of the Trial and Judgment In Civil Actions · Chapter 1.5. Dismissal for Delay in Prosecution · Article 3. Mandatory Time for Bringing Action to Trial or New Trial · Enacted 1705 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 583.360 requires the court to dismiss an action, on its own motion or the defendant's motion and after notice to the parties, if it isn't brought to trial within the time this article prescribes, and makes that requirement mandatory and not subject to extension, excuse, or exception except as expressly allowed by statute.
Full Text of § 583.360
(b) The requirements of this article are mandatory and are not subject to extension, excuse, or exception except as expressly provided by statute.
Plain-English Summary
This section supplies the enforcement mechanism behind the five-year rule. If the action isn't brought to trial within the time this article prescribes — after accounting for any exclusions under § 583.340, extensions under § 583.330, and the six-month floor under § 583.350 — the court must dismiss it, whether the court acts on its own motion or the defendant moves for dismissal, after notice to the parties.
Subdivision (b) is what makes the five-year rule a jurisdictional deadline rather than a discretionary one: the requirements of this article are mandatory, and they aren't subject to extension, excuse, or exception except as a statute expressly provides. Courts have consistently treated this language as leaving little room for equitable relief from a missed five-year deadline outside the exclusions the statute itself lists.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is dismissal automatic once the five-year deadline is missed?
The court must dismiss, but it still requires either the court acting on its own motion or the defendant moving for dismissal, and notice to the parties before the dismissal is entered.
Can a court excuse a missed five-year deadline for reasons not in the statute?
No, § 583.360(b) makes the deadline mandatory and not subject to extension, excuse, or exception except as a statute expressly allows.
Who can move to dismiss under this section?
The court on its own motion, or the defendant.
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: mandatory dismissal five year rule californiafive year rule dismissal enforcement california