Seeking to remove judgment from record

[S_Jeff]

Our company had a judgment against us in early August in small claims court in California. We appealed it, thinking that we could persuade the other party to settle and have it dismissed, ensuring that it not show up on record.

We came to an agreement with the plaintiff to dismiss the judgment. Therefore, we went to the court clerk seeking forms to achieve a dismissal with prejudice. The clerk said the only relevant form was a Satisfaction of Judgment form. However, I spoke to an attorney over the phone who told me that filling this out would still result in a recorded judgment against us.

Although he says he knows what the court requires to achieve our goal of no judgment on record, he will not tell me unless I hire him—which led me to seek out this forum.

Given that we have two parties willing to settle, what procedural steps do we need to follow to get the judgment removed from the record?

 

[dcatz]

You’ll need to do something that is relatively easy and not uncommon in a higher court but seldom done in Small Claims. There is no form, and you might surprise the bench officer, but it is absolutely within his/her power.

You’ll need to submit a Stipulation to vacate the judgment. Prudently, it should provide that the plaintiff/judgment creditor shall then be entitled to file a dismissal with prejudice. It should also include a line for the judge’s signature, making it an Order for the court. Parties can do a lot by Stipulation and you can certainly do this.

The clerk was right about the Satisfaction for a judgment order that was already entered. By Stipulation, you go back to the start, before the case was heard or judgment was entered. It’s as if you’re starting anew, and then the plaintiff can dismiss the case as if it were never litigated.

The filing would be something like this:

The undersigned parties to the instant action stipulate and agree that the judgment entered herein on mm/dd/yyyy in favor of Plaintiff X and against Defendant Y shall be and is vacated. The parties further stipulate and agree that, for good consideration, receipt of which is acknowledged, Plaintiff shall forthwith file a Dismissal with prejudice of the instant action and Defendant shall waive any and all claims for costs.
DATED:

X, Plaintiff in Propria Persona​

DATED:

Y, Defendant in Propria Persona

ORDER (PROPOSED)​

GOOD CAUSE APPEARING, IT IS ORDERED, ADJUDGED AND DECREED that the judgment entered herein on mm/dd/yyyy shall be and is vacated and Plaintiff shall be permitted to file a Dismissal of the instant action with prejudice.
DATED:

Judge/Commissioner of the Superior Court​

​

It should be on pleading paper with a caption something like “Stipulation to Vacate Judgment and to Permit Filing of Dismissal; Order (Proposed).

You may have to get a hearing date or, if you’re prepared to submit a document with both parties original signatures, the judge may handle it in chambers. Ask the court clerk in advance. You’ll probably be charged a fee of at least $40.00, which is the normal cost for an order.

Such matters have been discussed before on FA. Do some searching for “Stipulation to Vacate”.

Give the attorney's fee to charity.

The court may allow you to get a hearing date and do this orally, but a written Stipulation with original signatures is likely to avoid the need for all parties to appear. Again, ask the court clerk.

 

[S_Jeff]

Great info, but..

Thanks, dcatz, for all this info. You clearly did a lot of work here and it looks very promising. However, after reading all you had posted, I spoke to someone who said this would not work. So now I am unsure about how to proceed.

I called the Small Claims legal help line provided by the County of Los Angeles Department of Consumer Affairs, (dca.lacounty.gov), and spoke to a legal adviser who said that once a judgment has been entered, a Stipulation to Vacate the Judgment only works if we, as defendant, had been absent from court during the hearing. She said that if both parties present their case to a judge and he rules, then that judgment gets recorded and does not come off.

Is she wrong? She is admittedly not a lawyer, but now I am concerned about wasting the $40 filing fee, and possibly another day in court to take care of this.

Thanks for all your help!

 

[dcatz]

Ok, I leapt in. It’s my responsibility to try and straighten it out (and avoid confusing it more). Depending on the circumstances, we’re both right and, according to Code, the legal advisor is exclusively right or “more right” but . . . .

The first three sentences of your post describe a situation that’s not legally feasible, but I should have asked for more clarification. When you said that you wanted a dismissal and the plaintiff finally agreed, I assumed that the judgment was by default and not a hearing on the merits. That made appealing the case difficult to understand, but I opted for my first assumption or there was nothing the attorney could have done for you either. I may have made an error.

If you went through a hearing on the merits and an appeal on the merits, stop reading right here. The appeal was a trial de novo before another judge and your original trial judge no longer has jurisdiction.

If you reached agreement after trial but before appeal, by Code the judgment was conclusive on you, the defendant, and the plaintiff couldn’t dismiss. The most he could have done to accommodate you was to abstain from participating in the trial de novo and allow you to get a defense judgment.

If you’re still with this, we get back to your question and my response. The legal advisor is right, and I can’t guarantee my proposal will work. But you should understand the intention and philosophy of SC. Such an agreement may get the defendant paid/a problem resolved when it won’t happen any other way. It’s in the interest of both parties. They want it. No harm; no foul. SC courts favor that. Such Orders have been submitted and signed. It’s up to you, but if I believed there was no recourse, I would have told you.