Judge Lee S. Arian, Case Number: 19STCV19138, Date: 2024-10-17 Tentative Ruling

Judge: Lee S. Arian, Case: 19STCV19138, Date: 2024-10-17 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 19STCV19138 Hearing Date: October 17, 2024 Dept: 27

Hon. Lee S. Arian, Dept 27

MOTION FOR RELIEF FROM DEFAULT JUDGMENT

Hearing Date: 10/17/24¿

CASE NO./NAME: 19STCV19138 VANOOHI DAVOODIAN vs DOLLAR KING, INC.

Moving Party: Defendant Dollar King

Responding Party: Unopposed

Notice: Sufficient¿

Ruling: MOTION FOR RELIEF FROM DEFAULT JUDGMENT

IS GRANTED

Legal Standard

Section 473, subdivision (b) states in pertinent part: “The court may, upon any terms as may be just, relieve a party or his or her legal representative from a judgment, dismissal, order, or other proceeding taken against him or her through his or her mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect.... Notwithstanding any other requirements of this section, the court shall, whenever an application for relief is made no more than six months after entry of judgment, is in proper form, and is accompanied by an attorney's sworn affidavit attesting to his or her mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or neglect, vacate any (1) resulting default entered by the clerk against his or her client, and which will result in entry of a default judgment, or (2) resulting default judgment or dismissal entered against his or her client, unless the court finds that the default or dismissal was not in fact caused by the attorney's mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or neglect.” (Italics added.)

Section 473, subdivision (b), provides for two distinct types of relief. “Under the discretionary relief provision, on a showing of “mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect,” the court has discretion to allow relief from a “judgment, dismissal, order, or other proceeding taken against” a party or his or her attorney. Under the mandatory relief provision, on the other hand, upon a showing by attorney declaration of “mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or neglect,” the court shall vacate any “resulting default judgment or dismissal entered.” The range of attorney conduct for which relief can be granted in the mandatory provision is broader than that in the discretionary provision and includes inexcusable neglect. But the range of adverse litigation results from which relief can be granted is narrower. Mandatory relief only extends to vacating a default which will result in the entry of a default judgment, a default judgment, or an entered dismissal.” (Leader v. Health Industries of America, Inc. (2001) 89 Cal.App.4th 603, 615–616.)

To gain the statutory benefits, a party or legal representative must seek such relief “within a reasonable time, in no case exceeding six months, after the judgment, dismissal, order, or proceeding was taken.”¿(Code Civ. Proc., § 473, subd. (b); see Rappleyea v. Campbell (1994) 8 Cal.4th 975, 980 (Rappleyea).

Discussion

On January 11, 2024, Plaintiff obtained a default judgment against Defendant Dollar Kings, Inc. Defendant now seeks relief from the default judgment under the mandatory relief pursuant to CCP 473(b).

The statutory requirements for relief have been satisfied. First, the default judgment was entered on January 11, 2024, and this motion was filed on July 2, 2024, which is within the six-month statutory deadline. Second, the motion addresses a dismissal, which falls under the scope of the mandatory relief provision. Third, Defendant’s counsel submitted a declaration stating that the default occurred due to mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or neglect. Fourth, while the parties were in communication before the default judgment, a family death caused Defendant’s counsel to take time off, and he failed to instruct office staff to properly calendar Defendant’s response. As a result, no responsive pleading was filed, leading to the entry of default judgment. The Court finds that the default judgment was entered a result of counsel’s neglect. Fifth, Defendant has attached a copy of the proposed answer to the motion.

Since all statutory requirements have been met and no opposition was filed, Defendant’s motion for relief is granted.

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE:

If a party intends to submit on this tentative ruling, the party must send an email to the court at sscdept27@lacourt.org with the Subject line “SUBMIT” followed by the case number. The body of the email must include the hearing date and time, counsel’s contact information, and the identity of the party submitting.

Unless all parties submit by email to this tentative ruling, the parties should arrange to appear remotely (encouraged) or in person for oral argument. You should assume that others may appear at the hearing to argue.

If the parties neither submit nor appear at hearing, the Court may take the motion off calendar or adopt the tentative ruling as the order of the Court. After the Court has issued a tentative ruling, the Court may prohibit the withdrawal of the subject motion without leave.