Judge: Melvin D. Sandvig, Case: PC036281, Date: 2023-09-06 Tentative Ruling
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Case Number: PC036281 Hearing Date: September 6, 2023 Dept: F47
Dept. F47
Date: 9/6/23
Case #PC036281
MOTION TO AMEND
JUDGMENT
Motion filed on 6/16/23.
MOVING PARTY: Plaintiff/Creditor Fidelity
National Title Insurance Company, successor-in-interest
to Transnation Title Insurance Company
RESPONDING PARTY: Defendants/Judgment Debtors William Vargas dba J.V.M. Insurance Agent; Juan C. Vargas and
Miriam Murillo
RULING: The motion is granted as set forth below.
On 2/10/05, Transnation Title Insurance Company (Transnation)
filed its complaint against Defendants William Vargas dba J.V.M. Insurance
Agent; Miriam S. Murillo and Juan C. Vargas (collectively, Defendants) for: (1)
Breach of Contract, (2) Unjust Enrichment, (3) Money Had and Received, (4) Account
Stated and (5) Breach of Implied Warranty.
The amount of damages sought in the action against the Defendants was
$275,401.25 plus interest and attorney’s fees.
On 7/7/06, Default Judgment was entered in favor of Transnation
and against the Defendants. The amount
of the default judgment was $354,767.38 plus interest at the daily
post-judgment rate of $78.79 from and after 6/20/06. (RJN, Ex.1).
Thereafter, through a series of mergers, Fidelity National Title Insurance
Company (Fidelity) became the successor-in-interest to Transnation and the
current Judgment Creditor on the Judgment.
(See Laughlin Decl. ¶¶7-9, Ex.A-; RJN, Ex.6-7).
In 2011, $50,000.00 was recovered on the 2006 Judgment. As a result, Plaintiff provided credit to the
judgment balance to the Defendants. (RJN,
Ex.2).
On 5/17/16, Plaintiff filed an Application and Renewal of
Judgment (Application). (RJN, Ex.3). The Application included a typographical
error as the amount of the judgment was missing one digit which also caused the
interest calculation to be incorrect.
Further, the Application did not include the $50,000.00 credit. The application should have shown the correct
amount of the renewed judgment was $654,814.58, not $69,427.63. (Thomas Decl.; RJN, Ex.3).
On 5/18/22, Fidelity assigned the rights to collect on
the Judgment to GSFNT Recovery Fund, LLC (GSFNT). (Laughlin Decl. ¶11, Ex.B). Thereafter, the error in the Application and Renewal of Judgment was discovered and GSFNT
assigned the Judgment back to Fidelity.
(Laughlin Decl. ¶16; RJN, Ex.4).
On 6/16/23, Fidelity filed and served the instant motion
seeking an order amending the Judgment nunc pro tunc to reflect the name of the
current Judgment Creditor and to correct the amount of the judgment against
Judgment Debtors William Vargas dba J.V.M. Insurance Agent; Juan C. Vargas and
Miriam Murillo and the interest calculated thereon. No opposition or other response to the motion
has been filed.
The Court finds Fidelity has presented sufficient
evidence to establish it is the current Judgment Creditor and that the
Application and Renewal of Judgment contained a clerical error for which
amendment is warranted. See CCP
473(d); CCP 187; Thomson (1952) 112 CA2d 420, 425; Carr (1994) 23
CA4th 14, 20; Commonwealth Land and Title Company (1985) 175 CA3d 518,
531; In re Marriage of Kaufman (1980) 101 CA3d 147, 151; Hennefer
(1986) 182 CA3d 492, 506-507.
As such, the Court orders that the renewed Judgment be
amended nunc pro tunc to: (1) reflect the current name of the Judgment
Creditor, Fidelity National Title Insurance Company and (2) reflect the amount
of the Judgment as renewed nunc pro tunc on 5/17/16 to be $654,814.58.
Fidelity is ordered to separately submit the corrected
Application for and Renewal of Judgment which is attached as Exhibit A to the
declaration of Christopher R. Thomas.