A California Appeals Court has upheld the right of an insurer to appeal a default judgment in a small class action claim against its policyholder. The case is Pac. Pioneer Ins. Co. v. Superior Court, 44 Cal. App. 5th 890 (2020).

Jonathan Johnson was sued in small claims court after a car accident in Orange County. He failed to appear for the small claims hearing, and the court entered a default judgment against him for $10,140. Johnson was insured by Pacific Pioneer Insurance Company (Pacific Pioneer) which appealed.

The trial court struck the notice of appeal on the grounds that the California Code of Civil Procedure 116.710(d), says that a no-show defendant cannot appeal a verdict, but is instead limited to bringing a motion to vacate the judgment in trial court. Section 116.710(c), though, says that "the insurer of the defendant may appeal the judgment to the superior court in the county in which the matter was heard if the judgment exceeds two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) and the insurer stipulates that its policy with the defendant covers the matter to which the judgment applies.  Relying on subdivision (d) the trial court concluded that Pacific Pioneer was barred from appealing because the insured was a defendant who failed to appear.