Medina

INTRODUCTION

David Medina filed this personal injury action against Rives Grogan. After the trial court struck Grogan’s answer and entered his default as a sanction for misuse of the discovery process, Medina filed a request for a default judgment. The court entered judgment against Grogan in the amount of $400,000. Grogan appeals from the default judgment, arguing that Medina failed to present sufficient evidence to support his request for damages and that the judgment exceeded the amount in Medina’s statement of damages. We agree Medina did not present sufficient evidence to support $400,000 in damages. Therefore, we reverse the judgment and direct the trial court to allow Medina to prove up his damages again.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Medina Sues Grogan, and the Trial Court Strikes Grogan’s Answer as a Discovery Sanction In February 2021 Medina filed this action against Grogan and two entities (that are not parties to this appeal), alleging causes of action for negligence and premises liability (which is a form of negligence). Medina alleged that he lived in a second story apartment in a building managed, owned, and maintained by Grogan. Medina alleged the…