Judge: Mel Red Recana, Case: BS138371, Date: 2024-04-04 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: BS138371    Hearing Date: April 4, 2024    Dept: 45

Superior Court of California

County of Los Angeles

 

 

KNIGHTS FRANCHISE SYSTEMS, INC.,

 

                             Plaintiff,

 

                              vs.

NRV HOLDINGS, INC. ET AL.,

 

                              Defendants.

Case No.:  BS138371

DEPARTMENT 45

 

 

 

[TENTATIVE] RULING

 

 

 

Action Filed:  July 18, 2012

Trial Date:  Not Applicable

 

Hearing date:              April 4, 2024

Moving Party:             Plaintiff Knights Franchise Systems, Inc.

Responding Party:      None as of March 29, 2024

MOTION TO AMEND JUDGMENT

The Court considered the moving papers.  No opposition or reply has been filed.

            The motion is granted.

Background

            Plaintiff obtained entry of judgment on a Florida sister-state judgment against Defendants NRV Holdings, LLC, Dinesh Thakkar and Praduman Naik on September 4, 2012 in the amount of $25,145.57, interest in the amount of $313.29 and costs of $435.

            On September 6, 2022, Plaintiff applied for renewal of judgment and renewal of judgment was entered on that date. Notice of the renewed judgment was issued on that date. The renewed judgment was for $25,145,57, $313.29 and costs of $435.

Legal Standard

            “The court may, upon motion of the injured party, or its own motion, correct clerical mistakes in its judgment or orders as entered, so as to conform to the judgment or order directed, and may, on motion of either party after notice to the other party, set aside any void judgment or order.” (CCP §473(d).)

            “It is well settled that a court has the inherent power to correct a clerical error in its judgment so that the judgment will reflect the true facts. The power of a court to correct clerical mistakes in judgments is also a statutory power pursuant to section 473.” (Estate of Douglas (2022) 83 Cal.App.5th 690, 695.)

Discussion

            Plaintiff’s counsel clearly committed a clerical error when preparing the Application for Renewal of Judgment.  The amount of interest included in the Application is the exact same amount of interest included in the original Application for Entry of Judgment on Sister-State Judgment filed 10 years ago—$313.29.  Counsel’s inclusion of the interest amount from 10 years ago is a clerical error correctable pursuant to the Court’s power under CCP §473(d).  (In re Marriage of Kaufman (1980) 101 Cal.App.3d 147, 151 (counsel’s error in reducing judgment to writing was clerical error correctible under CCP §473(d).) 

            Based on the interest declaration submitted by counsel, the correct amount of interest that counsel intended to include in the Application for Renewal of Judgment is $28,469.44.  The motion to amend judgment is therefore granted.  The interest amount of $313.29 is stricken from Item 5(f) and the amount of $28,469.44 shall be interlineated.  A new Notice of Renewal will issue with the corrected Application for Renewal of Judgment attached.  Plaintiff is to comply with CCP §683.160(a), which requires that Notice of the Renewal be served on the Defendant. 

            It is so ordered.

 

Dated: April 4, 2024

_______________________

Rolf W. Treu

Judge of the Superior Court