CIV511114 SECURITY CREDIT SERVICES llc VS. ALEXANDRA DRANEAS

SIOTOS, ALEXANDRA DRANEAS MINOLETTI, PAUL G

SECURITY CREDIT SERVICES LLC CLARK, RORY W

defendant’s Motion to Set Aside Default and Default Judgment pursuant to Civil Code § 1788.61 and Code Civ. Proc. § 473(d)

TENTATIVE RULING:

Defendant ALEXANDRA DRANEAS SIOTOS’s Motion to Set Aside Default and Default Judgment pursuant to Civil Code § 1788.61 and Code Civ. Proc. § 473(d) is DENIED.

The evidence in this case indicates that Defendant was properly served personally with the Summons and Complaint in this action. (Evid. Code § 647; Defendant’s Exhibit A; Plaintiff’s Exhibit C.) The Court further notes that the Marital Settlement Agreement entered into by Defendant in Case No. FAM0116431 in December 2012 sets forth 270 Loyola Drive, Millbrae, CA as Defendant’s address. (Defendant’s Exhibit B.) Thus, Defendant’s argument that the default and default judgment should be set aside as “void” pursuant to Code Civ. Proc. § 473(d), for lack of proper service of the Summons and Complaint, is rejected.

Next, Defendant’s assertion that she did not know of this action until January 10, 2018 is demonstrably false. On June 12, 2013, Defendant filed a declaration under penalty of perjury in Case No. FAM0116431, stating that a default and default judgment had been entered against her in this action, and even attached a copy of the Notice of Entry of Judgment to that declaration. (Plaintiff’s RJN, Exhibit B.) Defendant failed to bring a timely motion to set aside that default and default judgment on the “meritorious” defense she asserts now. Defendant is certainly beyond the time limits of any applicable statutes, including Civil Code § 1788.61.

Defendant does not dispute that the Wells Fargo MasterCard account at issue was a joint account owned by her and her ex-husband. Family Code § 916 provides that the rights of a creditor against the property of a debtor are not affected by assignment of the debt to the other spouse for payment pursuant to a property division. Accordingly, the motion is DENIED.

Judgment Creditor BECHAROFF CAPITAL CORP.’s Request for Judicial Notice is GRANTED as to Exhibits A, B, and C.