Judge: Donald F. Gaffney, Case: "Donohue v. lantern Credit, LLC", Date: 2022-09-07 Tentative Ruling

TENTATIVE RULING:

Motion to Set Aside Defaults.

Defendants move to set aside the defaults entered as to Defendants on June 10, 2022.  For the following reasons, Defendants’ unopposed motion is GRANTED. 

Code Civ. Proc. § 473(b) permits a court to grant relief from a judgment, dismissal, order or other proceeding taken against a party on the grounds of “mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect.”  Code Civ. Proc. § 473(b) permits a court to grant two types of relief.  (Leader v. Health Industries of Am., Inc., 89 Cal. App. 4^th 603, 615 (2001).)  A court may grant discretionary relief upon the moving party’s showing of mistake, inadvertence, surprise or excusable neglect.  (Id. at 615-616.)  A court must grant mandatory relief upon a showing by an attorney declaration of mistake, inadvertence, surprise or neglect. (Id. at 616.)

Here, Defendants’ counsel has made a showing of mistake or inadvertence sufficient to warrant mandatory relief.  Defendants’ counsel attempted to meet and confer with Plaintiffs’ counsel for almost 2 years about the merits of the lawsuit, but Plaintiff’s counsel strung defense counsel along.  Plaintiff’s counsel then surprised Defendants’ counsel by requesting entry of Defendants’ defaults.  (Nelson Dec.)   Accordingly, the motion is granted, and the defaults are hereby vacated.

Defendants are ordered to file the answers attached to the motion forthwith. 

Defendants to give notice.