California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from Allen v. Adams, H041580 (Cal. App. 2015):
Appellant has not met his burden to demonstrate that the trial court erred in dismissing his complaint for delay in prosecution. Other than to briefly state that his mail was lost in prison, and that his efforts to serve defendants were "thwarted," appellant makes no reasoned argument as to why the trial court erred in dismissing his complaint. Because appellant has failed to show error, the presumption of correctness remains and the challenged order must be upheld. (Ballard v. Uribe (1986) 41 Cal.3d 564, 574-575.)
The fact that appellant is representing himself does not diminish his burden to establish error on appeal. While the law permits a party to act as his or her own attorney, " '[s]uch a party is to be treated like any other party and is entitled to the same, but no greater[,] consideration than other litigants and attorneys. [Citation.]' [Citation.] Thus, as is the case with attorneys, pro[] per[] litigants must follow correct rules of procedure. [Citations.]" (Nwosu v. Uba (2004) 122 Cal.App.4th 1229, 1247.) Having failed to show that the trial court erred, appellant is not entitled to reversal.
The judgment is affirmed.
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/s/_________
RUSHING, P.J.
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