Mediterranean Shipping Co. v. Duron Trucking Services CA2/5

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL SUMMARY

On July 28, 2022, MSA filed a complaint against DTS to recover amounts owed. On October 12, 2022, MSA personally served the complaint on DTS’s registered agent for service of process. On November 15, 2022, following DTS’s failure to answer, MSA filed a request for entry of default judgment, which was likewise served on DTS’s registered agent. On November 15, 2022, the trial court entered DTS’s default. On December 9, 2022, the trial court entered default judgment in favor of MSA. In January 2023, MSA, enforcing its judgment, levied a DTS bank account, after which DTS requested, and MSA declined, to stipulate to vacate the default judgment. Subsequently, DTS filed two consecutive motions to set aside the default judgment, each of which the trial court denied.

I. DTS’s First Set-aside Motion

On March 3, 2023, DTS filed a motion to set aside the default judgment under sections 473, subdivision (b), and 473.5. DTS represented that it only learned of the action as a result of the bank levy, that it was “not served,” and that relief was also proper in light of the “existence” of “mistake, inadvertence, or excusable neglect.” In support of its…