Does the late filing of a motion for summary dismissal justify dismissal?

Nor does the late filing justify dismissal. "Preventing parties from presenting their cases on the merits is a drastic measure; terminating sanctions should only be ordered when there has been previous noncompliance with a rule or order and it appears a less severe sanction would not be effective." (Wantuch v. Davis (1995) 32 Cal.App.4th 786, 795.) There is no history of prior refusals to obey a court order in this case, nor did the court ever impose monetary sanctions against counsel for failure to follow court orders. We therefore conclude turning to the drastic measure of dismissal as a first response was unreasonable.

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