If This Is Correct, Attorneys Must List Fees, Which Are Not Damages, As A Line Item In The CIV-100 Form For Purposes Of Preserving Them At The Default Judgment Stage.
Chardonnay Hills Homeowners Assn. v. Hoffman, Case No. E084439 (4th Dist., Div. 2 Oct. 15, 2025) (unpublished), seems like a routine case where a lower court struck an attorney’s fees request from a default judgment even though the plaintiff was a prevailing party for fee purposes. But the implication from the reasoning of this decision is something that litigants and practitioners need to focus on, if this is a correct reading of default procedural requirements—because fees must be listed in the request for entry of default form.
The 4/2 DCA affirmed the lower court’s striking of attorney’s fees from a default judgment. In doing so, it made clear that attorney’s fees are not damages. However, based on Garcia v. Politis, 192 Cal.App.4th 1474, 1479 (2011) and CRC 3.1800(a), the appellate court determined that attorney’s fees must be set forth in the request to enter default. No fees were set forth in the CIV-100 form under attorney’s fees, so they were forfeited at the subsequent default judgment stage. Big case to pay attention!