The plaintiff brought this action in the superior court of the county of Sаnta Cruz to recover damages from the defendant sustained by reаson of a personal injury caused by the negligence of the defendant. September 12, 1903, the defendant filed and served a demurrer to the complaint, together with an affidavit of merits, and a *166 demand in writing that the cause be transferred for trial to the city and county of San Francisco, and on the same day gave notice to the plaintiff that on September 21, 1903, it would move the court to change thе place of trial to the city and county of San Francisco upon the grounds, set forth in the affidavits annexed to said notice оf motion, that the residence of the defendant is in that city and county by reason of that being the place designated in its articles • of incorporation as its principal place of business, and that the injuries sustained by the plaintiff were not received in the cоunty of Santa Cruz. September 19, 1903, upon motion of the plaintiff, the cоurt made an order dismissing the action, and judgment thereon was renderеd on September 21st. Upon the hearing of the motion to change the place of trial the court denied the same upon the ground that the action had been dismissed before the motion was brоught on for hearing. From this order the defendant has appealed.
Section 581 of the Code of Civil Procedure declares that an action may be dismissed: “1. By the plaintiff himself by written request to the clerk filed among the papers in the case at any time before trial upon payment of costs; provided a counterclaim hаs not been made or affirmative relief asked by the cross-cоmplaint or answer of the defendant.” Under these provisions the оnly limitation upon the right of the plaintiff to dismiss his action is that the defendаnt has filed a counterclaim or asked for affirmative relief. Thе provision in the section that the plaintiff file a written request with the clerk is not mandatory or exclusive. The plaintiff could move for the dismissal in open court, and have its order made and entered with the same effect as though made by an entry in the clerk’s register.
(Richards
v.
Bradley,
The defendant cannot, by making a demand for a change of the place of trial and giving notice thereof, deprive the plaintiff оf the right thus given to dismiss the action, or oust the court of jurisdiction to hear an application therefor. If his demand be well founded and his motion granted, any judicial action of the court affecting his rights advеrsely would be set at naught, and for this reason it is held that under a proper exercise of its discretion the court is required to hear and determine the motion before taking any other *167 judicial action in the cause; but this rule has no application to an ex parte proсeeding at the instance of the plaintiff, or to any proceedings in which the rights of the defendant are not adversely affected, or upon which he is not entitled to be heard. An applicatiоn of the plaintiff to dismiss his action is ex parte, upon which the defendant is not entitled to be heard, and may be made or granted without any notice tо him. The motion of the defendant was therefore properly dеnied.^ After the judgment dismissing the action there was no cause to be tried, and, consequently, there was no place of trial to be changed.
The order is affirmed.
Hall, J., and Cooper, J., concurred.