Default Judgment Void & Statement Of Damages Rejected In Non-P.I. Default.

After a business relationship went south, plaintiff filed a complaint for damages in 2004. The prayer was for general and special damages according to proof. Default was entered in 2005. A statement of damages alleging damages for over $2 million was filed and served, and at the prove-up hearing, the trial court awarded almost that much. In 2013, defendant moved to vacate the default judgment the court had entered seven years earlier, which the trial court granted in 2014. In affirming, the Court of Appeal stated: “We are unpersuaded by plaintiff’s contention the he met the requirements of Code of Civil Procedure section 580 by serving defendant with a statement of damages under section 425.11 or 425.115, when the underlying claims did not involve personal injury or wrongful death, and the default judgment was for compensatory damages only. We also reject plaintiff’s argument that the default judgment is merely voidable, rather than void.” (Dhawan v. Biring (Cal. App. Second Dist., Div. 5; October 28, 2015) 241 Cal.App.4th 963.)