Marriage of Anderson
Court of Appeal of California
28 Cal. App. 4th 873 (1994)
Elizabeth Andersen (plaintiff) filed a standard form dissolution petition against Conrad Anderson (defendant) in 1986, checking boxes indicating assets and obligations would be listed in an accompanying property declaration and requesting the court determine the parties' property rights, listing ten community assets and several creditors without specifying values or a preferred division method. After a 1987 default judgment against Conrad, Conrad's 1988 motion to set aside was denied but the court found the judgment exceeded what Elizabeth's petition requested, leading to a new 1989 judgment; 1991 orders then divided the community property in kind and ordered Conrad to pay an equalizing $9,916.50 payment. Conrad's 1991 motion to set aside both the default judgment and the 1991 orders was denied, and he appealed.
Whether, under state law, if a petitioner includes his or her claims on the standard form dissolution petition, a respondent is on notice of the relief requested.