Be Careful What You Don't Pray For

Airs Aromatics v. CBL Data Recovery Techs., Inc., No. D072624 (D4d1 May 25, 2018)

I covered the issues in this case three years ago in the Dhawan case. But just in case you forgot, Code of Civil Procedure § 580 says a plaintiff can’t get a default judgment for more relief than is demanded in the complaint. That’s true even when the defendant, before defaulting, gets actual notice of the actual amount of damages the plaintiff will demand. So in Dhawan, plaintiff’s effort to give the a statement of damages like that required for punitive damages was held insufficient. And here, Defendant learned what Plaintiff’s demand was in a mediation. But knowing is not enough. To authorize a default judgment the actual number needs to be demanded in the complaint.

So if a plaintiff does the typical state court plaintiff thing and pleads damages according to proof in excess of the $25,000 jurisdictional threshold for an unlimited civil case—which technically violates § 425.10—it can’t lawfully recover a default judgment over $25 grand. To get more, it will need to amend to put in a number and make sure the defendant gets served with the new complaint before putting them into default. Otherwise, the judgment is void, and can be attacked years after the fact. Which is what happened here.

Reversed.