Judge: Michael P. Linfield, Case: 19STCV08714, Date: 2022-11-03 Tentative Ruling
Case Number: 19STCV08714 Hearing Date: November 3, 2022 Dept: 34
PLAINTIFF’S REQUEST FOR ENTRY OF DEFAULT JUDGMENT
I. BACKGROUND
On March 13, 2019, Plaintiff 31357 Anacapa View Dr., LLC filed its Complaint against the following Defendants: BLW Associates, LP; Equity Trust Company; North American Title Company; William Elliott Westwood a.k.a. Bill Westwood; Remington Chase; and Tolbex Inc. The listed causes of action are: (1) slander of title; (2) cancellation of instruments and removal of cloud on title; (3) declaratory relief; (4) fraud; (5) money had and received; (6) conversion; and (7) unjust enrichment.
On May 23, 2019, Plaintiff filed its First Amended Complaint against the following Defendants: William Elliot Westwood a.k.a. William Elliott Westwood a.k.a. Bill Westwood a.k.a. William Paul Elliot a.k.a. Remington Chase; MENA, LLC; High Sea Breeze LLC; Pasadena Production Studios; and Dan Wolfe. The listed causes of action are: (1) declaratory relief; (2) fraud; (3) money had and received; and (4) conversion.
On August 3, 2020, Plaintiff filed its Second Amended Complaint (SAC) against: BLW Associates, LP; William Elliot Westwood a.k.a. William Elliott Westwood a.k.a. Bill Westwood a.k.a. William Paul Elliot a.k.a. Remington Chase a.k.a. Remington William Chase; MENA, LLC; High Sea Breeze LLC; Pasadena Production Studios; Dan Wolfe; Malibu Hills Estates, LLC; Valentin Gasparyan a.k.a. Valentin a.k.a. Valentine Gasparyan; and Stepan Martirosian a.k.a. Stefan Martirosian a.k.a. Stefan Martirosyan. The listed causes of action are two counts of declaratory relief and one count of injunctive relief.
On August 19, 2020, by request of Plaintiff, the Clerk’s Office dismissed Valentin Gasparyan from the SAC.
On August 24, 2020, by request of Plaintiff, the Clerk’s Office dismissed Dan Wolfe from the SAC.
On November 3, 2020, by request of Plaintiff, the Clerk’s Office dismissed Pasadena Production Studios from the SAC.
On January 5, 2021, the Court issued Orders for Publication regarding the following Defendants: (1) Stepan Martirosian a.k.a. Stefan Martirosian a.k.a. Stefan Martirosyan; (2) Malibu Hills Estates, LLC; and (3) High Sea Breeze LLC.
On May 4, 2021, by request of Plaintiff, the Clerk’s Office entered default on the following Defendants: (1) Stepan Martirosian a.k.a. Stefan Martirosian a.k.a. Stefan Martirosyan; (2) MENA, LLC; (3) High Sea Breeze LLC; (4) Malibu Hills Estates, LLC; and (5) William Elliot Westwood a.k.a. William Elliott Westwood a.k.a. Bill Westwood a.k.a. William Paul Elliot a.k.a. Remington Chase a.k.a. Remington William Chase.
On October 24, 2022, Plaintiff filed its Requests for Court Judgment against the following Defendants: (1) Stepan Martirosian a.k.a. Stefan Martirosian a.k.a. Stefan Martirosyan; (2) MENA, LLC; (3) High Sea Breeze LLC; and (4) Malibu Hills Estates, LLC. Plaintiff concurrently filed: (1) Proposed Judgment; and (2) Declaration of Hamlet Simonyan.
On October 26, Plaintiff filed its Request for Court Judgment against Defendant William Elliot Westwood a.k.a. William Elliott Westwood a.k.a. Bill Westwood a.k.a. William Paul Elliot a.k.a. Remington Chase a.k.a. Remington William Chase.
On October 26, 2022, by request of Plaintiff, the Clerk’s Office dismissed the Does from the SAC.
On October 27, 2022, the Clerk’s Office rejected Plaintiff’s Request for Entry of Default against Defendant BLW Associates, LP for failure to file proof of service.
II. ANALYSIS
Plaintiff states that Defendant BLW Associates LP has been dismissed. (SAC, ¶2.). However, since the SAC complaint lists BLW Associates LP: as the first of many defendants, it is not clear to the Court that BLW has in fact been dismissed. In fact, Plaintiff apparently requested an Entry of Default against BLW Associates on 10/26/22; this was rejected by the Clerk’s office on 10/27/22.
If BLW is dismissed by Plaintiff, the Court will enter the following order:
“IT IS HEREBY ADJUDGED AND DECREED AS FOLLOWS:
“That defendant WILLIAM ELLIOTT WESTWOOD, AKA aka WILLIAM EILLIOT WESTWOOD aka BILL WESTWOOD aka WILLIAM PAUL ELLIOT aka REMINGTON CHASE and aka REMINGTON WILLIAM CHASE does not possess any authority (a) to sign any title and/or any other documents on behalf of Plaintiff or (b) to take possession of real property with a street address of 31537 Anacapa View Drive, Malibu, California (“31537 Anacapa”);
“That defendant MENA, LLC, a Colorado limited liability company, does not possess any authority (a) to sign any title and/or any other documents on behalf of Plaintiff or (b) to take possession of 31537 Anacapa;
“That defendant HIGH SEA BREEZE LLC, a California limited liability company, does not possess any authority (a) to sign any title and/or any other documents on behalf of Plaintiff or (b) to take possession of 31537 Anacapa;
“That defendant MALIBU HILLS ESTATES, LLC, a California limited liability company, does not possess any authority (a) to sign any title and/or any other documents on behalf of Plaintiff or (b) to take possession of 31537 Anacapa;
“That defendant STEPAN MARTIROSIAN aka STEFAN MARTIROSIAN and AKA Stefan MARTISOSYAN does not possess any authority (a) to sign any title and/or any other documents on behalf of Plaintiff or (b) to take possession of 31537 Anacapa;
“That whatever ostensible authority, if any, Remington Chase possessed as to 31537 Anacapa was limited to his signing the promissory note dated March 2, 2017 in the face amount of $1,200,000 (“2017 Note”) and deeds of trust recorded on March 20, 2017 (“31537 TD”) as the ostensible agent of Plaintiff;
“That the assignment documents executed by GASPARYAN relating to Plaintiff and to Gravity Delaware which are attached as Exhibit A and Exhibit B to the Second Amended Complaint in this action are legitimate and binding; and
“That Plaintiff’s sole member is now Gravity Delaware and its sole Manager is Hamlet Simonyan;
“That a permanent injunction issue precluding Defendants and their agents, successors and/or assigns from (i) asserting ownership of Plaintiff and (ii) asserting entitlement to sums bid at the trustee’s sale of 31537 Anacapa in excess of what Gravity Delaware may receive from such trustee’s sale as the foreclosing creditor.”
Since BLW Associates has not been defaulted, the Court will not include the following language in the judgment:
“That defendant BLW ASSOCIATES, LP, does not possess any authority (a) to sign any title and/or any other documents on behalf of Plaintiff or (b) to take possession of 31537 Anacapa;
The Court will not include the following language in the judgment:
“That the Easement Agreement a copy of which is attached as Exhibit “F” to the Second Amended Complaint in this action is voidable at the election of Plaintiff and that if Plaintiff elects to assert that the Easement Agreement is void, it will be invalid and unenforceable.”
This would be a conditional judgment. If Plaintiff wishes to assert that the Easement Agreement is void, it must do so before the judgment is issued.
The Court will hear from Plaintiff on these issues at the hearing.
reminds Plaintiff that if judgment is not entered today, the Court will dismiss
the action. (See 9/12/2022 Minute
Order.)