Estrella v. BT Catering CA2/1
Defendant and appellant BT Catering appeals from the trial court’s order denying it relief from the default judgment on plaintiff and respondent Hector Estrella’s (Estrella) complaint. BT Catering argues that the court should have set aside the judgment against it as void because it was never served with the operative complaint upon which default was entered and because the complaint failed to specifically plead the damages awarded. In the alternative, BT Catering argues that relief from default was warranted based on mistake or surprise. As we shall explain, the court did not err. BT Catering’s litigation conduct constituted a general appearance in the action and put it on notice of the claims against it, and thus, BT Catering forfeited any complaint regarding defective service. In addition, Estrella’s statement of damages provided sufficient evidence to support the damage award, and any mistake or surprise in the matter was the result of BT Catering’s counsel’s litig
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