Newstart Real Estate Investment LLC v. Huang
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The Court of Appeal affirmed three postjudgment orders thwarting New Start's attempts to collect on a judgment against defendant, and imposing sanctions against it. The rulings were based on the trial court's conclusion that there was no enforceable judgment, because the court had granted defendant's motion for a new trial of punitive damages.
The court held that plaintiff's claim of error regarding the August 23 order was not cognizable on appeal. The court rejected plaintiff's contention that the partial granting of a new trial of punitive damages did not vacate the entire judgment. The court held that, when a court grants a partial new trial, the new trial order has the effect of vacating the entire judgment and holding in abeyance the portions which are not subject to a new trial until one final judgment can be entered. In this case, there was no final judgment; it was vacated by operation of law. Furthermore, even if the compensatory damages award remained enforceable, plaintiff's writ of execution sought to collect on the entire judgment, including punitive damages, which unquestionably had been vacated. Finally, the trial court did not abuse its discretion in awarding sanctions.
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