Judge: Lynette Gridiron Winston, Case: 23PSCV03704, Date: 2024-12-11 Tentative Ruling
Case Number: 23PSCV03704 Hearing Date: December 11, 2024 Dept: 6
Plaintiff
American Express National Bank’s Request for Entry of Default Judgment
Defendant: Javier Ramirez
TENTATIVE RULING
Plaintiff’s request for entry of default judgment is DENIED without prejudice.
BACKGROUND
This is a debt collection case. On November 29, 2023, plaintiff American Express National Bank (Plaintiff) filed this action against defendant Javier Ramirez (Defendant) and Does 1 through 10, alleging one cause of action for common counts.
On November 13, 2024, default was entered against Defendant.
On November 13, 2024, Plaintiff requested entry of default judgment against Defendant.
LEGAL STANDARD
Code of Civil Procedure section 585 permits entry of a default judgment after a party has failed to timely respond or appear. (Code Civ. Proc., § 585.) A party seeking judgment on the default by the court must file a Request for Court Judgment, and: (1) a brief summary of the case; (2) declarations or other admissible evidence in support of the judgment requested; (3) interest computations as necessary; (4) a memorandum of costs and disbursements; (5) declaration of nonmilitary status; (6) a proposed form of judgment; (7) a dismissal of all parties against whom judgment is not sought or an application for separate judgment under Code of Civil Procedure section 579, supported by a showing of grounds for each judgment; (8) exhibits as necessary; and (9) a request for attorneys’ fees if allowed by statute or by the agreement of the parties. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 3.1800.)
ANALYSIS
Plaintiff seeks default judgment against Defendants in the total amount of $29,887.97, including $29,384.97 in damages and $503.00 in costs. The Court finds the default judgment package contains some defects, namely that Plaintiff did not submit sufficient evidence to support the amount of damages requested. While the complaint alleges Defendant accrued debt under two different credit card accounts, Plaintiff only submitted a copy of a statement for the credit card account ending in 1008, which shows a total of $16,251.27 outstanding. (Hinds Decl., Ex. B; Compl., Exs. A, B.) It is also unclear to the Court where the $631.93 in credit acknowledgment comes from. (CIV-100, ¶ 2, subd. (a).) The Court further notes that the amount listed in paragraph 2, subdivision (a), regarding amount demanded in complaint does not match the amount demanded in the complaint. (Compl., ¶ 10, subd. (a).)
CONCLUSION