Judge: Mark H. Epstein, Case: 22SMCV01553, Date: 2022-10-28 Tentative Ruling
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Case Number: 22SMCV01553 Hearing Date: October 28, 2022 Dept: R
The Court is quite concerned. Defendant seeks to vacate a default entered
against him, which has led to issuance of a writ of possession and an imminent
eviction. Defendant’s statement as to
why no answer was filed was that he and plaintiff’s counsel were in settlement
discussions and plaintiff promised that no judgment would be entered while
talks were ongoing. Defendant submitted
an email from plaintiff’s counsel dated September 15, 2022, that says precisely
that. According to defendant, talks
remained ongoing as late as October 20, 2022.
However, on September 20, 2022, a judgment was entered and a writ
issued.