Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

The HOA is legally entitled to pursue unpaid assessments which came due prior-to the foreclosure, from the then property owner (you). HOA dues are a personal obligation, and as such, even though you lost the home, you still owe the HOA dues. When they elected to file a lawsuit to attempt to collect the dues, they (presumably) attempted to locate you (knowing that you no longer lived in the home), and when they could not find you (as you indicate that you have no forwarding address), they should have then made application to serve you by publication. It is not uncommon for people to not know they have been sued, because there is no requirement in the law that the plaintiff in a lawsuit actually find and serve you - only that they made reasonable efforts to locate you. You have six months from the date of the entry of default to ask the court to set it aside. You should probably consult with an attorney as moving to set aside a default is not an easy process.

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I don't believe your story at all. You didn't know about it, but you got evicted? Wasn't that notice that something was going on then?

As I understand it, two bad things happened: you were wrongfully evicted; then, after that, the HOA sued for unpaid dues and assessments, etc., and obtained a default judgment because you were, post eviction, homeless.

You could make a motion under Code of Civil Procedure section 473 or 473.5 to have the default judgment set aside, but if it were, then the HOA would just renew the suit and, unless you have a defense, the end result would be the same, or maybe worse.

We don't have enough information to comment on the supposedly wrongful foreclosure, but I would note that if the condo was purchased by a bona fide third-party bidder at a trustee sale who lacked any notice or knowledge of the illegality, you probably cannot recover ownership even if you paid the lender every penny it claimed.