Title 8. Of the Trial and Judgment In Civil Actions · Chapter 7. Provisions Relating to Trials in General · Article 2. New Trials · Last amended 2019 · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 663a requires the procedure for a motion to set aside and vacate a judgment under § 663 to mirror the new-trial process — a notice of intention filed on the same deadlines as § 659, briefing under § 659a, the same 75-day limit on the court's power to rule, and appellate review as a special order made after judgment.
(a)A party intending to make a motion to set aside and vacate a judgment, as described in Section 663, shall file with the clerk and serve upon the adverse party a notice of his or her intention, designating the grounds upon which the motion will be made, and specifying the particulars in which the legal basis for the decision is not consistent with or supported by the facts, or in which the judgment or decree is not consistent with the special verdict, either:
(1)After the decision is rendered and before the entry of judgment.
(2)Within 15 days of the date of mailing of notice of entry of judgment by the clerk of the court pursuant to Section 664.5, or service upon him or her by any party of written notice of entry of judgment, or within 180 days after the entry of judgment, whichever is earliest.
(b)Except as otherwise provided in Section 12a, the power of the court to rule on a motion to set aside and vacate a judgment shall expire 75 days from the mailing of notice of entry of judgment by the clerk of the court pursuant to Section 664.5, or 75 days after service upon the moving party by any party of written notice of entry of the judgment, whichever is earlier, or if that notice has not been given, 75 days after the filing of the first notice of intention to move to set aside and vacate the judgment. If that motion is not determined within the 75-day period, or within that period as extended, the effect shall be a denial of the motion without further order of the court. A motion to set aside and vacate a judgment is not determined within the meaning of this section until an order ruling on the motion is entered in the permanent minutes of the court, or signed by the judge and filed with the clerk. The entry of an order to set aside and vacate the judgment in the permanent minutes of the court shall constitute a determination of the motion even though that minute order, as entered, expressly directs that a written order be prepared, signed, and filed. The minute entry shall, in all cases, show the date on which the order is entered in the permanent minutes, but failure to comply with this direction shall not impair the validity or effectiveness of the order.
(c)The provisions of Section 1013 extending the time for exercising a right or doing an act where service is by mail shall not apply to extend the times specified in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a).
(d)The moving, opposing, and reply briefs and any accompanying documents shall be filed and served within the periods specified by Section 659a and the hearing on the motion shall be set in the same manner as the hearing on a motion for new trial under Section 660.
(e)An order of the court granting a motion may be reviewed on appeal in the same manner as a special order made after final judgment.
Plain-English Summary
Rather than build a separate procedure for the § 663 motion, this section borrows the new-trial machinery wholesale. Subdivision (a) requires the same notice of intention, specifying the grounds and the particulars of the mismatch, on the identical timing § 659 sets for new-trial motions: after decision but before judgment, or within 15 days of notice of entry of judgment or 180 days after entry, whichever comes first.
Subdivision (b) carries over § 660's 75-day deadline for the court to rule, measured the same way, with the same automatic-denial consequence if the court misses it. Subdivision (c) blocks the § 1013 mail-service extension from stretching those deadlines, exactly as § 659 does. Subdivision (d) sends the briefing schedule to § 659a and the hearing procedure to § 660.
Subdivision (e) is what makes this motion appealable in its own right: an order granting it can be reviewed on appeal the same way courts review a special order made after final judgment.
Frequently Asked Questions
What notice deadlines apply to a motion to set aside a judgment under § 663?
The same deadlines § 659 sets for new-trial motions.
How long does the court have to rule on a § 663 motion?
75 days, on the same schedule and with the same automatic-denial consequence as § 660.
Is an order granting this motion appealable?
Yes, in the same manner as a special order made after final judgment.
Amendment History
Amended by Stats 2018 ch 317 (AB 2230),s 2, eff. 1/1/2019. Amended by Stats 2014 ch 93 (AB 1659),s 3, eff. 1/1/2015. Amended by Stats 2012 ch 83 (AB 2106),s 2, eff. 1/1/2013.
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:motion to set aside and vacate judgment procedure california