Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
I was a defendant, the judge granted the Plaintiffs motion for terminating sanctions. It was granted and the judge defaulted the case I lose. The Plalintiff did not state what he wanted except in his motion, but did not state in his original complaint the amount except to be determined by court which didn't happen.
Now the judge has stated that there is a pretrial minutes continued at a future date in feb. Is that legal after having the case defaulted?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Unfortunately, your last sentence does not make any sense. The Judge struck your answer so the plaintiff gets a default judgment as to your owing him money, but there must be a hearing in which the plaintiff must prove what the actual damages are. You can and should show up to listen to the matter and perhaps keep the plaintiff more honest, but you are not allowed to take part in the hearing.
If the case involved a tort and was not a simple collection matter, the plaintiff is required to serve you with a statement of damages before a judgment may be awarded.
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