In ruling on such motion, in a cause tried without a jury, the court may, on such terms as may be just, change or add to the statement of decision, modify the judgment, in whole or in part, vacate the judgment, in whole or in part, and grant a new trial on all or part of the issues, or, in lieu of granting a new trial, may vacate and set aside the statement of decision and judgment and reopen the case for further proceedings and the introduction of additional evidence with the same effect as if the case had been reopened after the submission thereof and before a decision had been filed or judgment rendered. Any judgment thereafter entered shall be subject to the provisions of sections 657 and 659.
§ 662.Ruling By Court
Title 8. Of the Trial and Judgment In Civil Actions · Chapter 7. Provisions Relating to Trials in General · Article 2. New Trials · Last amended 1981 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 662 lets the court, when ruling on a new-trial motion after a non-jury trial, change or add to the statement of decision, modify or vacate the judgment, grant a new trial, or instead vacate the judgment and reopen the case for further evidence, with any resulting judgment subject to §§ 657 and 659 all over again.
Full Text of § 662
Plain-English Summary
After a bench trial, the court ruling on a new-trial motion has more tools than a simple grant-or-deny choice. It can change or add to its own statement of decision, modify the judgment in whole or part, vacate the judgment in whole or part, or grant a new trial on some or all of the issues — all on terms the court finds just.
There's also a middle path: instead of granting a new trial outright, the court can vacate the statement of decision and judgment and reopen the case for more evidence, treating the case exactly as if it had never been submitted or decided in the first place.
Whatever judgment eventually results from any of these options starts the new-trial clock running again — it's subject to the same § 657 grounds and § 659 notice deadlines as any other judgment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can a court do when ruling on a new-trial motion after a bench trial?
Change or add to the statement of decision, modify or vacate the judgment, grant a new trial, or reopen the case for more evidence.
What does it mean to "reopen" the case under § 662?
Treating it as if the case had never been submitted or decided, allowing additional evidence before a new decision is reached.
Does a judgment entered after this kind of ruling remain subject to another new-trial motion?
Yes, under the same rules in §§ 657 and 659.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats. 1981, Ch. 900, Sec. 4.
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: new trial ruling bench trial californiareopen case for new evidence california