Jury discharged without verdict: court's power to order judgment under CCP 630(f) expires 30 days after discharge (motion deemed denied)

30 days after date the jury was discharged without rendering a verdict, under Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 630(f).

Rule text

(f) When the jury for any reason has been discharged without having rendered a verdict, the court on its own motion or upon motion of a party, notice of which was given within 10 days after discharge of the jury, may order judgment to be entered in favor of a party whenever a motion for directed verdict for that party should have been granted had a previous motion been made. Except as otherwise provided in Section 12a, the power of the court to act under the provisions of this section shall expire 30 days after the day upon which the jury was discharged, and if judgment has not been ordered within that time the effect shall be the denial of any motion for judgment without further order of the court.

Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 630(f), official source

Calculate this deadline

Deadline
Monday, December 7, 2026
  1. Trigger (Date the jury was discharged without rendering a verdict): Friday, November 6, 2026.
  2. Exclude the trigger day and count 30 calendar days: Sunday, December 6, 2026.
  3. That day is a Sunday, so the deadline moves to the next court day: Monday, December 7, 2026 (Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 12, 12a, 12b, 10; Cal. Rules of Court, rule 1.10).
Rules applied
Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 630(f)
(f) When the jury for any reason has been discharged without having rendered a verdict, the court on its own motion or upon motion of a party, notice of which was given within 10 days after discharge of the jury, may order judgment to be entered in favor of a party whenever a motion for directed verdict for that party should have been granted had a previous motion been made. Except as otherwise provided in Section 12a, the power of the court to act under the provisions of this section shall expire 30 days after the day upon which the jury was discharged, and if judgment has not been ordered within that time the effect shall be the denial of any motion for judgment without further order of the court.
Official source
Cal. Code Civ. Proc. 12, 12a, 12b, 10; Cal. Rules of Court, rule 1.10
CCP 12: "The time in which any act provided by law is to be done is computed by excluding the first day, and including the last, unless the last day is a holiday, and then it is also excluded." CCP 12a(a): "If the last day for the performance of any act provided or required by law to be performed within a specified period of time is a holiday, then that period is hereby extended to and including the next day that is not a holiday. For purposes of this section, “holiday” means all day on Saturdays, all holidays specified in Section 135 and, to the extent provided in Section 12b, all days that by terms of Section 12b are required to be considered as holidays." CCP 12b: "If any city, county, state, or public office, other than a branch office, is closed for the whole of any day, insofar as the business of that office is concerned, that day shall be considered as a holiday for the purposes of computing time under Sections 12 and 12a." CCP 10: "Holidays within the meaning of this code are every Sunday and any other days that are specified or provided for as judicial holidays in Section 135."
Official source
  • Jurisdictional for the court; if judgment is not ordered by this date, the motion is denied by operation of law. The statute expressly preserves CCP 12a, so the default weekend/holiday roll applies. Retrial after mistrial: see trial_after_mistrial_3yr (CCP 583.320).
  • If the clerk's office is closed or inaccessible on the last day (weather, emergency or local closure orders), the deadline may be extended. Check local orders.

This calculator applies the cited rules to the dates you enter. It is not legal advice. Court orders, local rules, and case-specific facts can change a deadline; verify before relying on it. Rule set pending attorney review.

Worked example

Date the jury was discharged without rendering a verdict on Monday, March 15, 2027, personal service: due Wednesday, April 14, 2027.

  1. Trigger (Date the jury was discharged without rendering a verdict): Monday, March 15, 2027.
  2. Exclude the trigger day and count 30 calendar days: Wednesday, April 14, 2027.

Notes

Jurisdictional for the court; if judgment is not ordered by this date, the motion is denied by operation of law. The statute expressly preserves CCP 12a, so the default weekend/holiday roll applies. Retrial after mistrial: see trial_after_mistrial_3yr (CCP 583.320).

Related deadlines

All California civil deadlines

Local rules by county

County local rules and courtroom procedures can add to or change this deadline. Pick a county to calculate with them applied.

Rules current as of 2026-10-25. Confirm against the official source and any local rule or court order before relying on a date. Rules changelog.