Timmins v. Zheng CA4/3

Filed 6/22/21 Timmins v. Zheng CA4/3

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

ARTHUR TIMMINS,

Plaintiff and Respondent, G058705

v. (Super. Ct. No. 30-2017-00941120)

XIAO ZHENG et al., OPINION

Defendants and Appellants.

Appeal from an order and judgments of the Superior Court of Orange County, Nathan R. Scott, Judge. Affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded with directions. Law Offices of Angela Swan and Angela Swan; Travis M. Poteat for Defendants and Appellants. The Law Offices of Sam X.J. Wu and Sam X.J. Wu for Plaintiff and Respondent.

INTRODUCTION Xiao Zheng, Juan Cheng, and Shedoor International, Inc. (Shedoor, Inc.) appeal from default judgments entered against them and in favor of Arthur Timmins on a wage-and-hour complaint. Timmins alleged that Zheng, Shedoor, Inc., and others violated California labor laws with regard to overtime, meal and rest breaks, record keeping, and reimbursement for business expenses. He also alleged voidable transfers among various defendants, including Cheng. We reverse the default judgment against Juan Cheng. Timmins’ complaint does not allege that she was his employer, and it does not allege any damages attributable to her. She is involved in the action only with respect to the voidable transfer causes of action, as to which no damages amounts were alleged. We vacate the default judgments against Zheng and Shedoor, Inc., solely for possible calculation errors and return the matter to the trial court to re-review the damages calculations and, if necessary, revise them. The other objections to the defaults and the default judgments lack merit. FACTS Timmins filed a wage-and-hour complaint against Zheng, Cheng, Shedoor, Inc., and others on August 30, 2017. He alleged that he had worked up to 18 hours a day, 6 or 7 days a week, without breaks or overtime payments. He also alleged that he had incurred business expenses for which he had not been reimbursed. He asked for damages in the amount of no less than $150,000. Zheng, Cheng, and Shedoor, Inc., did not respond, and Timmins took their defaults in December 2017 and January 2018. Appellants’ motions to set aside the defaults were denied on October 15, 2018. After a default prove-up, the court issued a minute order granting default judgment on October 28, 2019. Judgments were entered against appellants in the amount of $75,871 on the same day. This amount represented the total of Timmins’ overtime hours, unpaid meal and rest breaks, and unpaid business expenses, plus costs and attorney fees.