Flood v. Simpson

45 Cal. App. 3d 644, 119 Cal. Rptr. 675
California Court of Appeal·Decided February 28, 1975·No. 44011·Published·Cited by 25 cases

Opinion

45 Cal.App.3d 644 (1975)
119 Cal. Rptr. 675

JOHN N. FLOOD, Plaintiff and Appellant,
v.
C. EDWARD SIMPSON, Defendant and Respondent.

Docket No. 44011.

Court of Appeals of California, Second District, Division Five.

February 28, 1975.

*646 COUNSEL

John N. Flood, in pro. per., for Plaintiff and Appellant.

Stephens, Jones, La Fever & Smith and Mark A. Spraic for Defendant and Respondent.

OPINION

STEPHENS, J.

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.

*647 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 fraud and deceit precedent to the earlier judgment. On May 24, 1973, appellant filed "Notice of Intent to Move the Court for Order Supplementing Complaint Herein." When the case was called for trial on October 15, 1973,[2] appellant moved orally to supplement his complaint, and respondent moved orally for judgment on the pleadings. The court denied appellant's motion, and it granted respondent's motion on the grounds of collateral estoppel and res judicata.

(1a) The first issue we deal with is whether the trial court erred in denying appellant's motion to supplement his complaint. (2) It is the general policy that courts should exercise liberality in permitting the filing of supplemental pleadings when the alleged "occurring-after" facts are pertinent to the case. (Code Civ. Proc., § 464; People ex rel. Dept. Pub. Wks. v. Douglas, 15 Cal. App.3d 814 [93 Cal. Rptr. 644]; Louie Queriolo Trucking, Inc. v. Superior Court, 252 Cal. App.2d 194, 197-198 [60 Cal. Rptr. 389].) Nonetheless, the motion to file a supplemental pleading is addressed to the sound legal discretion of the court, and its ruling will not be disturbed on appeal in the absence of a showing of a manifest abuse of that discretion. (Wood v. Brown, 39 Cal. App.3d 232, 239-240 [114 Cal. Rptr. 63]; Louie Queriolo Trucking, Inc. v. Superior Court, supra; Erickson v. Boothe, 127 Cal. App.2d 644 [274 P.2d 460].) (1b) There is no such showing in the instant case. Moreover, the court properly denied the motion on the basis that the supplement to the complaint sought to introduce new causes of action. (Brown v. Valley View Mining Co., 127 Cal. 630 [60 P. 424]; Stack v. Welder, 3 Cal.2d 71, 75-76 [43 P.2d 270]; Stephani v. Abbott, 137 Cal. App. 510 [30 P.2d 1033]; 3 Witkin, Cal. Procedure (2d ed.) § 1088, p. 2667.)

Appellant further contends that the court erred in granting respondent's motion for judgment on the pleadings for two reasons: (1) that the original judgment (superior ct. No. 883548) is void on its face because the affiant, on behalf of Minnehoma, did not possess the requisite personal knowledge in order for his declarations filed in that case to be admissible;[3] (2) that a default judgment entered as a result of sanctions *648 for failing to comply with discovery cannot be the basis for reliance on the doctrines of res judicata and estoppel.

The default which was entered against appellant on October 13, 1966, was the consequence of his willful disregard of the processes of the court as reflected by his failure to appear for three noticed depositions.[4] On September 22, 1966 — after appellant failed to appear for two noticed depositions — the court granted monetary sanctions against appellant and ordered him to appear for a third deposition noticed for October 10, 1966. Appellant again failed to appear. On October 13, 1966, the court granted the motion to strike appellant's answer and entered default against him. A default judgment was entered against appellant and Catherine Flood[5] on January 17, 1967, pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 2034, subdivision (d).[6] (See Stein v. Hassen, 34 Cal. App.3d 294 [109 Cal. Rptr. 321]; Housing Authority v. Gomez, 26 Cal. App.3d 366, 373 [102 Cal. Rptr. 657]; Scherrer v. Plaza Marina Coml. Corp., 16 Cal. App.3d 520 [94 Cal. Rptr. 85]; MacDonald v. Joslyn, 275 Cal. App.2d 282 [79 Cal. Rptr. 707, 35 A.L.R.3d 641]; Welgoss v. End, 252 Cal. App.2d 982, 993 [61 Cal. Rptr. 52].)

*649 (3a) Appellant is again attacking the original judgment (rendered June 17, 1967) on the basis that respondent had no personal knowledge of the matters stated in the affidavits that he filed in the original case. (4) Any person is qualified to make an affidavit in support of a motion, and his declaration is competent evidence unless an objection is raised on the basis that the affiant had no personal knowledge of the matters set forth in the affidavit. (See McLellan v. McLellan, 23 Cal. App.3d 343, 359-360 [100 Cal. Rptr. 258]; 2 Cal.Jur.3d, Affidavits, § 4, p. 785; cf. Code Civ. Proc., § 585, subd. 4 and Weathers v. Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, 5 Cal.3d 98, 106 [95 Cal. Rptr. 516, 485 P.2d 1132].) The only affidavits we need be concerned with here are those which were filed in support of the motion[7] for sanctions and default judgment which were signed by respondent in his capacity as plaintiff's (Minnehoma Financial Company's) attorney.[8]

(5) It is well settled that hearsay or other incompetent evidence in an affidavit (such as appellant is alleging here) if received without proper objection or motion to strike is to be regarded as competent evidence in support of an order or judgment. (Waller v. Waller, 3 Cal. App.3d 456, 464 [83 Cal. Rptr. 533]; Nalley's, Inc. v. Corona Processed Foods, Inc., 240 Cal. App.2d 948, 951 [50 Cal. Rptr. 173]; Cope v. Cope, 230 Cal. App.2d 218, 233 [40 Cal. Rptr. 917]; Johns v. Curry, 189 Cal. App.2d 94, 98-99 [10 Cal. Rptr. 882].) However, appellant was precluded from filing a motion to strike after the entry of default. (See J.M. Wildman, Inc. v. Stults, 176 Cal. App.2d 670 [1 Cal. Rptr. 651]; 4 Witkin, Cal. Procedure (2d ed.) § 148, p. 2809.) (3b) Nevertheless, appellant raised this objection in his first appeal (determined on September 11, 1970).[9] The Court of Appeal *650 rejected his argument. The trial court in the present appeal properly found that appellant is precluded from rai

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Flood v. Simpson, 45 Cal. App. 3d 644, 119 Cal. Rptr. 675 (Cal. Ct. App. 1975).

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