TENTATIVE 

Plaintiff Southern California Gas Company (“Plaintiff”) filed this subrogation action against defendants Oscar Arturo Quintero Madrigal, Jaciel M. Madrigal, Hurricane Trucking, and Does 1 through 25 for damages Plaintiff paid on behalf of its employee Andric Diaz (“Diaz “) arising from an automobile incident. The vehicle driven by Diaz was owned by Plaintiff. Defendants Oscar Arturo Quintero Madrigal, and Jaciel M. Madrigal, Hurricane Trucking (collectively, “Defendants”) are alleged to be the “owners, drivers, renters, and/or possessors” of the semi-truck which collided with Plaintiff’s vehicle. Plaintiff has properly dismissed all unnamed Doe defendants.  

The complaint alleges that Plaintiff sustained property damage in the sum of $10,922.09. and paid workers’ compensation benefits to Diaz in the sum of $3,614.57. Plaintiff seeks judgment the amount it paid for property damage and workers’ compensation benefits against Defendants.  

Plaintiff submits the declaration of its Claims Examiner II, Nichole Knight (“Knight”), in support of the damages. Knight’s declaration provides that the amount Plaintiff paid on behalf of Diaz in workers’ compensation benefits is $3,042.99, which is a sum less than the amount alleged in the complaint. Knight provides evidence of payment in the amount of $3,024.99. This amount sought is granted.  

Further, Knight substantiates the property damage by providing the billing invoice for the vehicle damage in the amount of $10,922.09. 

However, Plaintiff does specify which person was the driver, and which person/entity was merely the owner or possessor of the vehicle. Cal. Veh. Code § 17151 limits property damage against an owner or bailee of an owner to the maximum of $5,000 only. 

Because Hurricane Trucking is an entity, the Court surmises that the entity defendant is likely to be an owner of the vehicle. It is unclear what the specific roles Oscar Arturo Quintero Madrigal and Jaciel M. Madrigal have in the incident in terms of their actual involvement as either the owner/driver/renter of the vehicle involved.  

Due to this unexplained ambiguity, the Court will reduce the amount of property damage from $10,922.09 to $10,000 and allocate the property damage among the three defendants as follows: (1) $5,000 against Hurricane Trucking, and (2) the remaining $5,000 against Oscar Arturo Quintero Madrigal and Jaciel M. Madrigal, jointly and severally. In this manner, Cal. Veh. Code § 17151’s statutory cap will no longer be at issue in terms of division among the defendants.  

The complaint includes a prayer for interest as allowable by law. Plaintiff seeks $2,427.70 in pre-judgment interest. Plaintiff provides an interest calculation that the pre-judgment interest is based on property damage of $10,922.09 incurred at a 7% per annum rate from August 27, 2020 to the date of the declaration. Because the interest is based upon a principal amount that is capable of being made certain, and the requested interest is within 7% pursuant to Cal. Const. art XV, 1 and CC §3287(c), the amount requested is granted. 

Plaintiff seeks costs in the amount of $464.43 for clerk’s filing fees, $332.68 in process server’s fees, skip trace fees of $690, and “attempted service of process fees” of $390. The filing fees and process server’s fees are allowable costs pursuant to CCP § 1033.5 (a)(1). The “skip trace” fees belong in the category of investigation, and is not expressly allowed under the statute. However, items not mentioned in CCP § 1033.5 may be allowed in the court’s discretion, provided that the costs were reasonably necessary and in a reasonable amount.  

The Court is unable to determine the difference between the process server’s fees v. “attempted service of process fees”, and whether the “attempted” fees were reasonable. Further, Plaintiff provides no explanation or evidence of the “skip trace fees” for the Court to determine its reasonableness. The court, in its discretion, therefore declines to award “attempted service of process fees” of $390 and “skip trace” fees of $690, and taxes these costs.  

The Court awards costs in the amount of $787.11. 

The application for default judgment filed on November 3, 2023 is GRANTED in the principal amount of $13,042.99, $2,427.70 in prejudgment interest, and $787.11 in costs, against defendants, divided as follows: 

Principal Damages 

Prejudgment Interest and Costs 

The prejudgment interest of $2,427.70 and costs of $787.11 are granted against all three defendants, jointly and severally.  

Plaintiff is ordered to give notice.