Vector Fabrication v. Nguyen CA6

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The instant appeal involves one of several lawsuits between Quang Luong (Luong) and Nguyen arising from business deals in Vietnam and California. At least three of these lawsuits resulted variously in defaults, sanctions, and summary adjudications during the time Nguyen was detained in Vietnam. After Nguyen’s return to California, in March 2022, Nguyen filed a “motion to set aside default, default judgment, summary adjudications, charging orders, and discovery sanctions” in the three parallel cases (set aside motion). (Capitalization omitted.) The trial court ultimately denied the set aside motion in a written order (set aside order), giving rise in the instant action to the judgment at issue on appeal. To understand the issues raised in this appeal, it is necessary to briefly describe the legal actions addressed in the set aside motion and set aside order. Our recitation of facts pertaining to the cases not currently before this court on appeal is for the purpose of providing background and context only and does not reach the merits of the legal issues involved.1 A. Earlier Filed Actions 1. QTV Action The earliest filed action, QTV Enterprise,…