My initial reaction to the question "Does the depublication of a case by the California Supreme Court constitute a 'change in law?'" was "No. It just keeps the law as it was, and expresses no opinion on the merits."
But after I read this opinion, I realized that my first instinct was indeed erroneous. It does change the law. It eliminates legal authority that controls a trial court.
For this reason, when a trial court relies exclusively on Case X, and then X gets depublished, a party can move for reconsideration outside of the normal 10-day window under CCP 1008. Perhaps even more importantly, in a truly unusual case -- like here -- it would be an abuse of discretion to deny the motion for reconsideration in light of the depublication.
Definitely worth knowing.
