Zara
American Express Centurion Bank v. Zara
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Premo, J.
Plaintiff American Express Centurion Bank sued defendant Robert V. Zara for damages. Defendant moved to quash service of summons and the complaint on the ground that he was not served. The trial court denied the motion after reasoning that defendant had actual notice. It then granted defendant 10 days leave to file an answer. Defendant elected not to answer, and the trial court entered a default. It later rendered a default judgment against defendant for $61,988.85. On appeal, defendant contends that the trial court erroneously denied his motion to quash. We agree. We therefore reverse the judgment with directions.
*387 APPEALABILITY AND SCOPE OF REVIEW
A defendant who seeks review of an order denying a motion to quash must ordinarily petition the appellate court for a writ of mandate. (Code Civ. Proc., § 418.10, subd. (c).) 1 However, “a defendant may reserve his jurisdictional objection on appeal if, after the denial of his motion to quash, he makes no general appearance but suffers a default judgment.” (McCorkle v. City of Los Angeles (1969) 70 Cal.2d 252, 258 [ 74 Cal.Rptr. 389 , 449 P.2d 453 ].)
“[C]ompliance with the statutory procedures for service of process is…