Under California law, an individual defendant may not be added as an additional judgment debtor to a default judgment against a corporation unless both (a) the individual is the corporation’s alter ego, and (b) the individual controlled the litigation and thus had an opportunity to litigate its merits. By contrast, a successor corporation that merely carries on the judgment debtor’s business under a new business name and organization may be added as a judgment debtor to a default judgment without proof that it controlled the litigation. So, in this case a successor corporation was properly added to the judgment, but it was reversible error to add the individual as well.
California Court of Appeal, Second District, Division 4 (Manella, J.); October 25, 2016; 2016 WL 6216112