Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

[Note to other readers: This user (or else another user from the same zip code who encountered the same problem at the same time) has posted before. He was sued by a collection agency but did not answer the complaint because he either could not afford the first-paper fee or was unwilling to pay it, and because the court would not give him a waiver. The agency got a default judgment against him as a result.]

No. The procedure you describe is designed to protect litigants from errors and omissions by their lawyers. This protection is important because the litigant has no control over the lawyer's actions; the law provides a way the litigant can recover if the lawyer messes up in some ways.

Your situation is different because you don't have a lawyer. It was you who didn't answer the complaint, not someone else to whom you had entrusted your case.

Another difference is that you knew what was required of you and when but chose not to do it. Your current plight results from your own deliberate decision, not from someone else's error. So you are not eligible for the kind of relief you describe.

You really need to stop posting here looking for ways to game the system. The answer to all your questions is "hire a lawyer to see if they can get you out of your intentional default somehow, OR pay the judgment, OR file for bankruptcy." You have no other options. There are no other answers.

There is the old adage in that describes a lawyer who represents himself at trial: "He has a fool for a client." When you do it pro se its even worse. Get over this it is time to pay the piper. Pay an attorney, pay the judgement, or pay an attorney...