Civil actions.

(1) Existing law permits a court, on its own motion or the motion of any party, to enter a prefiling order prohibiting a vexatious litigant from filing any new litigation in propria persona without first obtaining leave of the presiding judge of the court where the litigation is proposed to be filed. Existing law permits a presiding judge to allow a vexatious litigant's filing only under specified circumstances, and permits the presiding judge to condition the filing upon the furnishing of security. Existing law prohibits a clerk of a court from filing any litigation presented by a vexatious litigant subject to a prefiling order unless the vexatious litigant first obtains an order permitting the filing and provides a process for staying and dismissing litigation by a vexatious litigant if the clerk mistakenly accepts it. This bill would extend the authority described above to a presiding justice or to the designee of a presiding justice or a presiding judge. The bill would also permit a vexatious litigant who is subject to a prefiling order to file an application to vacate the prefiling order and remove his or her name from the Judicial Council's list of vexatious litigants, as specified. The bill would prohibit a vexatious litigant whose application is denied from filing another application before 12 months has elapsed after the date of the denial. The bill would permit a court to vacate a prefiling order and order removal of a vexatious litigant's name from the Judicial Council's list of vexatious litigants upon a showing of a material change in the facts upon which the order was granted and finding that the ends of justice would be served by vacating the order. (2) Existing law requires that specified civil cases be submitted to arbitration and that an arbitration award is final unless a request for a de novo trial is filed within 30 days after the date the arbitrator files the award with the court. Existing law requires that an arbitration award be filed in the court in which the action is pending, and if a request for a de novo trial is not made and the award is not vacated, the award be entered in the judgment book. This bill would further condition the finality of an arbitration award, as described above, on a request for dismissal not having been made, and would extend the period for making a request for dismissal or for a de novo trial to 60 days after the date the arbitrator files the award.