Judge: Thomas D. Long, Case: 22STCV34239, Date: 2025-01-07 Tentative Ruling

Case Number: 22STCV34239    Hearing Date: January 7, 2025    Dept: 48

On October 24, 2022, Plaintiff Auto Soss Inc. filed this action against Defendant Raysean Smith.  The Court entered default against Defendant on October 23, 2023.  On the same day, Plaintiff filed this request for entry of default judgment.

Plaintiff seeks a judgment of $352,859.84, consisting of $300,000.00 in damages, $49,000.00 in prejudgment interest, and $3,859.84 in costs.

“‘Plaintiffs in a default judgment proceeding must prove they are entitled to the damages claimed.’  [Citation].”  (Kim v. Westmoore Partners, Inc. (2011) 201 Cal.App.4th 267, 288.)  “[T]he plaintiff must affirmatively establish his entitlement to the specific judgment requested.” (Id. at p. 287.)

Plaintiff’s Founder and CEO declares, “Based on [his] experience with the YouTube Partner Program and the income derived therefrom, as well as the frequency by which Plaintiff posted videos and viewer engagement with Plaintiff’s videos, Plaintiff would have earned $200,000.00 from monetizing its videos on Plaintiff’s YouTube Channel had Plaintiff been able to continue monetizing its videos . . . [and] the views, likes, comments, and watch hour statistics from the Videos which Defendant permanently deleted, were worth $100,000.00.”  (Reyes Decl. ¶ 15.)  This is speculative and does not establish any basis for the requested damages.  Plaintiff does not provide, for example, evidence of prior earnings from which future losses could be calculated, or evidence of the values of “views, likes, comments, and watch hour statistics.”

The $3,859.84 in costs includes $2,860.10 in service of process fees, $435.00 in court fees, $107.67 in filing fees, $90.80 in printing/scanning costs, $46.75 in postage and overnight service costs, $167.52 in messenger/e-service costs, and $152.00 in miscellaneous other costs.  (Kashfian Decl. ¶ 7 & Ex. 7.)  Postage, photocopying, printing, fax fees, and exhibit tabs are not recoverable costs.  (Code Civ. Proc., § 1033.5, subd. (b).)  The messenger fees for delivering courtesy copies to the Court are also not recoverable, especially because this Court does not accept paper courtesy copies.

Additionally, although “[a] ‘verified memorandum of costs is prima facie evidence of the propriety’ of the items listed on it” (Adams v. Ford Motor Co. (2011) 199 Cal.App.4th 1475, 1486), Plaintiff’s $2,860.10 for process server fees is contradicted by the evidence.  The proofs of service filed with the Court show a total of $947.37 in process server fees: $146.92 for substituted service on October 31, 2022 (filed December 19, 2022) and $800.45 for personal service on September 20, 2023 (filed October 4 and 23, 2023).  (See also Kashfian Decl. ¶¶ 3-5 & Exs. 1-2.)

The request for entry of default judgment is DENIED WITHOUT PREJUDICE.

Moving party to give notice.

Parties who intend to submit on this tentative must send an email to the Court at SMCDEPT48@lacourt.org indicating intention to submit.  If all parties in the case submit on the tentative ruling, no appearances before the Court are required unless a companion hearing (for example, a Case Management Conference) is also on calendar.

         Dated this 7th day of January 2025