First American Title Insurance Co. v. Banerjee
Annotate this Case
Golden acted as a real estate broker for a rental property owned by Banerjee's company, Arkesh. Golden found a five-year tenant. Arkesh contracted to pay a commission if the tenant bought the property. . The tenant purchased the property for $4,850,000. Golden demanded that First American (as escrow holder for the sale) hold the commission ($145,500) and an outstanding lease fee ($5,994.95). The commission remained unpaid.
Golden sued, alleging breach of contract against Arkesh and Banerjee, and promissory estoppel against First American. Golden served the summons and complaint through substituted service; although Banjerjee’s name was listed at a gated community in Dublin, on seven occasions, the process server was unable to gain access. On an eighth attempt, the documents were served to a “co-resident” who indicated Banerjee was not home and a copy was also mailed to Banerjee at that address. Defaults were entered against the defendants. First American then cross-complained against the defendants for indemnity and contribution; Banerjee was personally served. Golden assigned its claims to First American, which obtained a default judgment.
The court of appeal affirmed the denial of a motion to set aside the default judgment, rejecting arguments that the service of the original summons and complaint was improper and that the default judgment should be set aside for mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect. Banerjee was personally served with the cross-complaint two months after the default was entered on the complaint but waited more than two years before moving to set aside the default.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.