When a defendant doesn't bother to defend himself against a lawsuit, the plaintiff can get a default judgment for punitive damages only if the plaintiff serves the defendant with a statement of the amount of punitive damages sought. (See Code of Civil Procedure section 425.115.) In this case, the plaintiff got a default judgment for $25,000 in punitive damages, but never served a statement of damages. An easy reversal, right? Not so fast. The default judgment in this case was entered way back in 1990, well before the Legislature enacted the statute requiring a statement of damages (which happened in 1992). Accordingly, the California Court of Appeal (Second Appellate District, Division Two) affirms in an unpublished opinion.
November 22, 2011
Punitive damages default judgment affirmed (Akdot v. Olabuenaga)
Posted by
Curt Cutting
at
3:57 PM
Labels: California Court of Appeal