Superior Investments Management v. Marks CA2/6

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

In July 2020, respondents Superior Investments Management, Inc., Tony Marino and Associates, Inc., and Linda Kocalis Corwin, as trustee of the Harold Kocalis Trust, filed the instant action against appellant, his wife, Anna Marks, and his mother, Dorothy Marks (collectively “appellants”)2 alleging damages for breach of obligation to pay money. (Civ. Code, § 3302.) In the first amended complaint, respondents contended that appellants executed a promissory note in May 2020 for the principal sum of $500,000 with interest, due and payable on June 26, 2020. Appellants subsequently defaulted on the note and ignored respondents’ demand for repayment. In October 2020, the trial court entered default after appellants failed to file an answer. In late March 2021, appellants moved the trial court to set aside default and default judgment. In his motion for relief, appellant contended that he was “overwhelmed” by the “stress” of personal family problems, which caused him to misunderstand the “process and time demands” to file an answer. He also claimed that he had not seen, nor had he ever signed, the promissory note attached as an exhibit to the complaint. He…