A Default Needs a Number. No Exceptions.

Sass v. Cohen, No. S255262 (Cal. Dec. 24, 2020)

Section 580 of the Code of Civil Procedure limits a default judgment to the amount stated in the complaint. A prior Court of Appeal case—Cassel v. Sullivan, Roche & Johnson, 76 Cal. App. 4th 1157 (1999)—made an exception for cases seeking an accounting because the defendant purportedly already has enough information to calculate its exposure. About two years ago, the Court of Appeal here disagreed with Cassel and took § 580 for its face value.

Given the split, the Supreme Court took review. It agrees with the Court of Appeal. Section 580 limits a default judgment to the amount stated in the complaint. It does not limit a default judgment to some amount that the defendant could figure out, so the fact that a defendant might theoretically have notice isn’t enough.

Court of Appeal affirmed.

Just Demand a Billion Dollars

Sass v. Cohen, No. B283122 (D2d2 Apr. 4, 2019)

Plaintiff brought Marvin and other claims against her ex-paramour, claiming to be entitled to half the value of various items of real and personal property acquired during the relationship. Defendant defaulted. Notwithstanding Code of Civil Procedure § 580(a), which limits relief on a default judgment to that demanded in the complaint, the trial court awarded plaintiff almost $3 million, plus a constructive trust over one house. Defendant appeared and moved to vacate the judgment. But the trial court upheld the award, finding that § 580(a)’s limits don’t apply to an accounting-type claim where the defendant already has sufficient information to calculate an exposure.