What are examples of mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect that work?

[sefnfot]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California

I am embattled with this excuse being used by an attorney in my current case. I have an attorney and the motion to stay the default was granted.

The Judge said to the Tenant Attorney that her conduct looked like she was using 473(b) preemptively and on purpose , because she is going to get it anyway so they didn't file on time. And the Judge recognized that the attorney perjured herself when she signed that she mailed the ANSWER on April 1. My attorney never got the answer; and it was like pulling teeth to get any details from the file.

So the judge lowered the bar on this excuse to include even when the attorney commits perjury as a mistake/error then it is ok because a lawyer lies all the time.

There seems to be an unholy alliance in that department between the Judge and certain lawyers because even though the Judge is aware of this lawyer's misconduct in the past and clearly expressed the appearance of such. She totally ignored herself and granted the motion.

Also the Judge included that an error made by the clerk of the court counts as an excuse of 473.
I am aware from case law that errors of the employees of the attorney count the same as if the lawyer did it.

 

[sefnfot]

A mistake is an error or misconception or misunderstanding, but there are different situations under which a mistake matters in law. For example, there is a difference between a mistake in a contract (where the parties understand terms differently, perhaps, and a contract could be voidable as a result) and a mistake of fact (any error, perhaps, that is material to a transaction) and a mistake of law (a misconception, perhaps, about the legal effect of a situation).

Inadvertence is an accidental oversight. Inadvertent negligence, for example, would be when a party is not aware of the risk but, nevertheless, should have been aware of it and should have avoided the risk.

Surprise would be when there is no advance or adequate warning or when something affects someone in an unexpected way.

Excusable neglect is a failure which could be excused under the law NOT because of a party's own carelessness or inattention to a matter but because there was an unavoidable or unexpected incident that caused the failure.

Quincy wrote the above, I don't want to post the link because T&C prohibit it, but I am not taking credit for this clear and concise explanation.