Flood

This is yet another appeal involving the judgment rendered on June 17, 1967, for Minnehoma Financial Company against appellant John N. Flood. [1] In that action the trial court found that defendants John and Catherine Flood had wilfully failed to appear for depositions, and it granted the ultimate sanction permitted by Code of Civil Procedure section 2034 by striking defendants' answer and entering default and default judgment. Approximately two and a half years later, appellant made a motion for an order to set aside the default and default judgment and to have the answer reinstated. The court denied the motion by order of August 18, 1969. Appellant then made a motion for an order vacating the order denying the setting aside of the default and default judgment; that motion was also denied by order of September 15, 1969. Appellant appealed from this order, and the Court of Appeal on September 11, 1970, affirmed both the orders of August 18 and September 15, 1969.

The present, separate action was commenced August 22, 1969, by appellant against respondent C. Edward Simpson (the counsel for plaintiff Minnehoma Financial Company in the first case), alleging…