Wolfe Axelrod Weinberger Assocs. v. Spare Backup CA4/2
California Court of Appeal Apr 16, 2013 No. E054530Unpublished
Filed 4/16/13 Wolfe Axelrod Weinberger Assocs. v. Spare Backup CA4/2
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 TWO
WOLFE AXELROD WEINBERGER ASSOCIATES, LLC, E054530 Plaintiff and Respondent, (Super.Ct.No. INC10007557) v. OPINION SPARE BACKUP, INC.,
Defendant and Appellant.
APPEAL from the Superior Court of Riverside County. Harold W. Hopp, Judge.
Affirmed.
Law Offices of Darrell Palmer and Darrell Palmer for Defendant and Appellant.
Edwards Wildman Palmer and Erin L. Pfaff for Plaintiff and Respondent.
Spare Backup, Inc., (hereafter Spare Backup) appeals from the trial court‟s order
denying its motion to vacate a sister state judgment. The order is appealable under Code
of Civil Procedure section 904.1, subdivision (a)(2).1
1 All further statutory references are to the Code of Civil Procedure unless otherwise indicated.
1
I
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
In May 2006, Spare Backup entered into a consulting agreement with Wolfe
Axelrod Weinberger Associates, LLC (hereafter Wolfe). In 2009, Wolfe filed suit in
New York for breach of the agreement. On January 12, 2010, Wolfe obtained a default
Subdivision (i) is titled: “Default judgment for failure to comply with stipulation of
settlement.” It states: “1. Where, after commencement of an action, a stipulation of
settlement is made, providing, in the event of failure to comply with the stipulation, for
entry without further notice of a judgment in a specified amount with interest, if any,
from a date certain, the clerk shall enter judgment on the stipulation and an affidavit as to
the failure to comply with the terms thereof, together with a complaint or a concise
statement of the facts on which the claim was based. [¶] 2. Where, after commencement
of an action, a stipulation of settlement is made, providing, in the event of failure to
comply with the stipulation, for entry without further notice of a judgment dismissing the
action, the clerk shall enter judgment on the stipulation and an affidavit as to the failure
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to comply with the terms thereof, together with the pleadings or a concise statement of
the facts on which the claim and the defense were based.”
NYCPL section 3215, subdivision (i) precisely describes the situation here. There
was a default judgment followed by a settlement agreement. The settlement agreement
provided for entry of judgment upon failure to follow the settlement agreement. A
judgment was entered based upon an affidavit, which showed the failure to comply with
the terms of the settlement. Under this section, the affidavit of defendant, which serves a
different purpose, is not required. (See generally County Nat’l Bank v. Vogt (1967) 28
A.D.2d 793, 794; Baehre v. Rochester Dental Prosthetics, Inc. (1982) 446 N.Y.S.2d 901,
902.)
The trial court did not err in denying Spare Backup‟s motion to vacate the valid
New York judgment.
V
DISPOSITION
The trial court‟s order denying Spare Backup‟s motion to vacate a sister state
judgment is affirmed. Respondent shall recover its costs on appeal.
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS RICHLI J. We concur:
McKINSTER Acting P. J.
KING J.
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AI Brief
AI-generated · verify before citing
Holding. The court held that a sister state judgment is entitled to full faith and credit when the rendering court has jurisdiction over the parties and subject matter, and the appellant failed to demonstrate a meritorious defense to the underlying action. Furthermore, the court determined that the judgment was properly entered under New York law governing default judgments following a settlement stipulation rather than the statute governing confessions of judgment.
Issues
Was the New York judgment invalid for failure to comply with New York's confessed judgment statute?
Did the appellant demonstrate a meritorious defense to the underlying action to justify vacating the sister state judgment?
Disposition. Affirmed.
Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion
“Since Spare Backup has not met its burden of showing it had a meritorious defense to the action, the California sister state judgment cannot be set aside.”
“Even if the New York judgment was erroneous as a matter of New York law, it was not challenged by Spare Backup in New York, and we must give it full faith and credit as a sister state judgment under section 1710.15.”