Judgments

After securing a $600K judgment against Johnson, plaintiff sued him again to set aside a fraudulent transfer by which Johnson attempted to avoid execution of the judgment.  After two years of litigation on the fraudulent transfer suit, plaintiff filed a memorandum of post-judgment costs seeking to collect attorney fees and costs it expended in the second suit.  To thwart that… Read More

In federal court, FRCivP 41(a)(1)(B) treats the second voluntary dismissal without prejudice of the same claims as a judgment on the merits.  However, this decision holds that the federal rule does not give a second dismissal in federal court the force of a judgment on the merits for claim preclusion purposes if the plaintiff files a third suit on the… Read More

This decision affirms an order amending a judgment to name an individual as an alter ego of the corporate defendant.  There was evidence to support the trial court's finding that inequity would otherwise result.  The judgment creditors had been unable to satisfy their judgments/  The individual had been CEO and owner of the corporation until judgment was entered against it. … Read More

If the judgment that is being enforced is an amended judgment, the 10-year time limit on its enforceability runs from entry of the amended judgment, not the original judgment. Read More

A judgment creditor may recover costs and fees incurred in enforcing the judgment by either filing a memorandum of costs including both fees and costs or a motion for the award of costs and fees.  The memorandum or motion must be filed within two years after the costs or fees are incurred and before the judgment is satisfied.  The judgment… Read More

After his house was destroyed in a fire, Tipton filed a claim under his homeowner's policy with Nationwide.  In a criminally stupid move, Tipton's claim sought payment for destruction of Van Gogh's original Starry Night painting which he said was in the house when the fire broke out.  Tipton was later charged and pled guilty to insurance fraud and perjury,… Read More

Rule 60(a) provides that a court “may correct a clerical mistake or a mistake arising from oversight or omission whenever one is found in a judgment, order, or other part of the record.”  This portion of the rule allows only for correction of "clerical errors"--blunders in framing the judgment to reflect the district court's actual rulings.  Rule 60(a) is limited… Read More

The district court erred in entering judgment in favor of the defendant property owner in this ADA suit over  the parking lot's lack of a space for parking a van with an access path for a person confined to a wheelchair.  The fact that plaintiff was a serial litigant in ADA cases was not a reason to deny him Article… Read More

In a county that no longer uses a judgment book, judgment is "entered" for purposes of post-trial motions and appeal time when a copy of the judgment in filed by the clerk.  The clerk's entry in the register of actions that judgment has been entered is neither required nor sufficient.  Instead, it is the filing of the judgment document that… Read More

To register a sister-state judgment in California under CCP 1710.010 et seq., the judgment creditor need not show that the defendant is subject to personal jurisdiction in California.  If the sister-state judgment is otherwise enforceable, the defendant received due process in the original forum state and need not be afforded all due process rights in the states in which the… Read More

An order compelling arbitration is not a final judgment entitled to res judicata or collateral estoppel effect because it cannot be appealed until after judgment is entered confirming the arbitration award. Read More

This decision reverses a judgment for the employee in a suit for unpaid overtime wages because of a botched special verdict question regarding the employer's affirmative defense that the employee was an exempt executive under Wage Order No. 5.  The question asked only if the employee spent more than 50% of her time on exempt duties.  The question overemphasized the… Read More

Under CCP 473(d), a court may correct a clerical error in a judgment at any time.  This decision holds that the trial court properly invoked that authority to correct the renewal of a judgment.  The original judgment had been against Audrey Douglas in her capacity as administrator of Billy Joe Douglas' estate.  The judgment creditor's application for renewal of the… Read More

While the primary purpose of appointing a receiver (here, to sell radio stations) is to enforce and obtain payment of a judgment, the judgment debtor cannot automatically obtain the receiver's discharge and return of its property by posting adequate security for or paying the judgment.  The court retains discretion to continue the receivership thereafter to assure that the judgment debtor's… Read More

CCP 995.240 grants a trial court authority to waive any provision requiring a litigant to post a bond if the trial court finds the party that is otherwise required to post a bond is indigent and unable to obtain sufficient sureties.  This decision holds that the statute applies, and grants the trial court discretion, to waive CCP 917.1's otherwise applicable… Read More

Following Jade Fashion & Co., Inc. v. Harkham Industries, Inc. (2014) 229 Cal.App.4th 635, this decision enforces the parties' settlement agreement which permitted plaintiff to enter judgment against defendant for $251,000 if defendant failed to pay any of 24 monthly instalments of $1,250 (for a total of $30,000).  The $251,000 judgment was not an unenforceable penalty because defendant admitted plaintiff… Read More

A judgment is not one "on the merits" entitled to claim or issue preclusive effect if the appeal from the judgment is dismissed solely on the ground that the appeal is moot due to post-judgment events--such as, in this case, completion of the development project that allegedly violated zoning of CEQA requirements.  See also Coalition for a Sustainable Future in… Read More

Plaintiff leased a commercial property from defendant.  The lease gave plaintiff an option to buy the property at its fair market value.  Plaintiff exercised the option but the parties disagreed about the fair market value.  After much litigation, the trial court set the price and ordered the parties to perform, but before they could  do so, the Department of Transportation… Read More

The female complainant in a university's disciplinary proceeding against a male student for alleged sexual assault on the complainant was not an indispensable party to the male student's mandate proceeding against the university for violating his due process rights in its proceedings which resulted in disciplining him.  While the complainant had an interest in the mandate proceeding, complete relief could… Read More

Plaintiff recovered a $157,000 judgment against defendant's corporation, then brought this independent suit against defendant claiming he was the corporation's alter ego and liable for the judgment against it.  On the first appeal from judgment on the pleadings against plaintiff, the court held that a plaintiff may pursue an independent action against the alter ego based on the judgment against… Read More