Judge: Nathan Vu, Case: 2020-01144549, Date: 2022-09-26 Tentative Ruling

Motion to Amend Judgment

Plaintiff Elaine Laurent’s motion to amend judgment is GRANTED.

Plaintiff Elaine Laurent moves to amend the Judgment entered on 03/02/2022 against Defendant Jeff Wallace dba JW Fabrication to add Jeffrey Lloyd Wallace, Jeff Lloyd Wallace, Jeffrey Y. Wallace, Jeffrey Lloyd Wallace Junior, Jeffrey L. Wallace, and Jeffrey Lloyd Wallace to the Judgment as judgment debtors.

Civil Procedure Code section 187 grants the court the power and authority to carry their jurisdiction into effect. (NEC Electronics Inc. v. Hurt (1989) 208 Cal.App.3d 772, 778.) Section 187 contemplates amending a judgment by noticed motion. (Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. v. Weinberg (2014) 227 Cal.App.4th 1, 9.) The court is not required to hold an evidentiary hearing on a motion to amend a judgment, but may rule on the motion based solely on declarations and other written evidence. (Id.)

The court’s authority includes the power to amend a judgment to add an alter ego of an original judgment debtor, and thereby make the additional judgment debtor liable on the judgment. (Toho–Towa Co., Ltd. v. Morgan Creek Productions, Inc. (2013) 217 Cal.App.4th 1096, 1106.) Amending a judgment to add an alter ego of an original judgment debtor “is an equitable procedure based on the theory that the court is not amending the judgment to add a new defendant but is merely inserting the correct name of the real defendant.” (McClellan v. Northridge Park Townhome Owners Assn. (2001) 89 Cal.App.4th 746, 752, quoting NEC Electronics Inc. v. Hurt (1989) 208 Cal.App.3d 772, 778.)

In order to amend the judgment, the judgment creditor must show, by a preponderance of the evidence, that: “(1) the parties to be added as judgment debtors had control of the underlying litigation and were virtually represented in that proceeding; (2) there is such a unity of interest and ownership that the separate personalities of the entity and the owners no longer exist; and (3) an inequitable result will follow if the acts are treated as those of the entity alone.” (Relentless Air Racing, LLC v. Airborne Turbine Ltd. Partnership (2013) 222 Cal.App.4th 811, 815–816.)

Plaintiff submitted evidence showing that the parties sought to be added to the Judgment are and were alias names of Defendant Jeff Wallace. Defendant has not submitted any opposition to the motion or evidence to the contrary.

Plaintiff shall give notice of this ruling.