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California Civil Procedure, Keyed to Levine, 6th Ed.
Sass v. Cohen
Citation:
10 Cal. 5th 861, 272 Cal. Rptr. 3d 836, 477 P.3d 557 (2020)Facts
Deborah Sass and Theodore Cohen began a romantic relationship in 2006 while Cohen was still married. Cohen persuaded Sass to move to Los Angeles by promising to pay all her living expenses for life and that all property and income acquired during their relationship would be joint property. Cohen purchased properties on Hollywood Boulevard and Oakley Drive, telling Sass he was buying them for both of them. Sass worked for Cohen’s company, Tag Strategic LLC, generating approximately $1.4 million in revenue, but Cohen did not share profits as promised. After their relationship deteriorated, Sass filed a complaint alleging seven causes of action including breach of Marvin agreement, failure to pay wages, quantum meruit, accounting, fraud, and fraudulent transfer. Her complaint demanded an accounting of specified assets and requested damages “in a sum to be proven at trial” without stating specific dollar amounts in the prayer for relief. Cohen defaulted, and the trial court awarded Sass over $2.8 million in compensatory damages plus punitive damages. Cohen later moved to vacate the default judgment, arguing it exceeded amounts demanded in the complaint.
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