Sadeghi v. Sadeghi CA4/3

California Court of Appeal Jun 28, 2024 No. G062028Unpublished

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Holding. The court held that a default judgment entered by a civil court while a related dissolution proceeding was pending is voidable, not void, even if the doctrine of priority jurisdiction applies, and therefore cannot be challenged via a motion to vacate a void judgment.

Issues

Whether a civil court's default judgment is void for lack of subject matter jurisdiction when a family law court has priority jurisdiction over the same debt.
Whether the doctrine of priority jurisdiction divests a second court of subject matter jurisdiction or merely limits its power to act.

Disposition. Affirmed

Quotations verified verbatim against the opinion

“Even if the doctrine of priority jurisdiction applies, the judgment here is voidable rather than void.”

“Therefore, even assuming the priority jurisdiction doctrine applies here, it would limit the power of the trial court to act; it would not divest the court of jurisdiction.”

Filed 6/28/24 Sadeghi v. Sadeghi 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NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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

ANGIZEH SADEGHI,

Plaintiff and Respondent, G062028

v. (Super. Ct. No. 30-2021-01228676)

SIDNEY SADEGHI, OPINION

Defendant and Appellant.

Appeal from a postjudgment order of the Superior Court of Orange County, Martha K. Gooding, Judge. Affirmed. Requests for judicial notice denied. Motion to dismiss denied. Holt Law Firm and Peter T. Holt for Defendant and Appellant. Maralan Law and Sam Maralan for Plaintiff and Respondent. * * *

Angizeh Sadeghi (Angizeh) sued her brother Arman Sadeghi (Arman) and his former spouse, Sidney Sadeghi (Sidney), for failing to repay 1 a loan. At the time the lawsuit was filed, Sidney and Arman were in the middle of a dissolution proceeding in which they both listed the loan as a community debt. Angizeh obtained a default judgment in the civil case; Sidney later sought to vacate the default on the grounds the court lacked jurisdiction to issue orders affecting a community debt. We are not persuaded and therefore affirm.

FACTS Sidney and Arman married in 2009. In 2018, Sidney and Arman received a loan from Angizeh. In 2020, Sidney filed for divorce. In their pleadings, Sidney and Arman both identified the loan as a community debt. In 2021, while the dissolution matter was pending in the family law court, Angizeh filed a separate civil complaint against Sidney and Arman which alleged breach of the loan agreement. In 2022, while the marital dissolution matter was still pending, the court entered a default judgment against Sidney and Arman. Sidney later filed a motion to vacate the default judgment on the grounds the family law court had priority jurisdiction and, the civil court therefore lacked jurisdiction over the subject matter of the loan. The court denied the motion.2

Sadeghi v. Sadeghi CA4/3

AI Brief

NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION THREE

ANGIZEH SADEGHI,

SIDNEY SADEGHI, OPINION

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