Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

There is a one judgment rule in California, which means that it cannot be piecemealed. Perhaps they took your default. The judgment will occur after the trial or everyone is defaulted. Feel free to provide me directly with a link to the docket, or a copy of the docket, if you would like a more definitive answer.

Why on earth did you do that? Even if the case really is frivolous, the eventual judgment against you (what you already have is probably just a default and not a default judgment) will be just as enforceable as any other judgment. You won't be able to oppose the enforcement by arguing that the claims were frivolous.

There might -- might -- still be time to protect your interests, but you must act quickly. Feel free to contact me if you want to discuss the limited options available to you.

Mr. Cohen is wrong. The single judgment rule is per defendant, not per case. I can't sue you for fraud and breach of contract, and get a judgment on the breach of contract count while keeping the case going against you for fraud. I can, however, sue you and your partner for breach of contract and fraud and get a judgment against you for breach of contract and fraud, and then continue the case against your partner.

To answer your direct question, once they have a judgment, they can come after your assets and income immediately. Mr. Hoffman is correct that you need to contact an attorney immediately, unless you just plan to pay the judgment.

Mr. McCormick has it right... Most important thing is to hire an attorney to see if they can file a motion to set aside the judgment. But time is of the essence so you really need to move quickly if you want any relief. There is only a short window in which a judgment can be set aside. In the meantime, they can execute against your assets.