OLG SECURES VACATUR OF SIX-FIGURE DEFAULT JUDGMENT

Olson Law Group recently obtained a significant victory on behalf of an insured client in a subrogation action arising from alleged commercial property damage following a water loss.

The plaintiff insurer filed suit and ultimately secured a default judgment exceeding $238,000 after making multiple representations to the court of their exercise of due diligence and defendant’s avoidance of service. Plaintiff secured an order for service by publication and ultimately obtained the default judgment.

No attempt to collect on the judgment was made for more than two years. More than four years after the loss, plaintiff contacted defendant’s liability insurance carrier demanding payment of the judgment, with interest, which had grown to nearly $290,000.

After being retained, OLG conducted a detailed review of the court record and underlying filings. The record revealed multiple factual and procedural defects, including reliance on database searches that did identify a person with the same first and last name of our client. However, close examination of the records showed that plaintiff was in possession of a single lease document showing the defendant had a different middle initial than the person identified in plaintiff’s database search. Plaintiff also failed to recognize that the person they tried to serve had a different date of birth. The defendant was not a resident at the address where service was attempted and not a resident in the county where service by publication was attempted.

OLG retained an independent investigator who, using the same general information available to plaintiff’s counsel, quickly and accurately located our client, demonstrating that plaintiff knew or should have known that they were attempting to serve the wrong person. A Motion to Void Default Judgment was filed under Code of Civil Procedure section 473(d), supported by declarations and documentary evidence establishing lack of proper service and lack of personal jurisdiction. The Court issued a tentative ruling vacating the judgment and voiding service. Plaintiff submitted on the tentative.

Tim Hodge wrote the motion on behalf of OLG’s client.