Grabowski v. Rutan & Tucker
The law firm Rutan & Tucker (Rutan) obtained a default judgment against Laurence L. Grabowski (Grabowski) after he failed to pay his legal fees or honor his promissory note to pay legal fees. Approximately five years later, Rutan learned Grabowski was going to receive a large settlement arising out of litigation involving a business dispute against his brother, Patrick Grabowski, and other family members (hereafter collectively referred to as Patrick). Rutan filed a notice of lien in the pending family business dispute (hereafter the Orange County Litigation). After the court ordered the parties to prepare a final judgment in that case, Rutan filed a “motion for order for satisfaction of [the] judgment lien.†The court granted the motion over Grabowski’s and Patrick’s objections. A few months later, Grabowski filed a motion to set aside the default and default judgment claiming it was void because he was not properly served with a summons and complaint. The court denied Grabowski’s motion and again determined the lien was valid.
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