§ 425.115.Preservation By Plaintiff of Right to Seek Punitive Damages On Default Judgment

Title 6. Of the Pleadings In Civil Actions · Chapter 2. Pleadings Demanding Relief · Article 1. General Provisions · Last amended 2006 · Last verified July 28, 2026

In one sentenceSection 425.115 lets a plaintiff preserve the right to seek punitive damages on a default judgment by serving the defendant with a statement disclosing the specific dollar amount sought, and requires that service before any such default may be taken.

Full Text of § 425.115

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g)

(a) As used in this section:

(1) "Complaint" includes a cross-complaint.

(2) "Plaintiff" includes a cross-complainant.

(3) "Defendant" includes a cross-defendant.

(b) The plaintiff preserves the right to seek punitive damages pursuant to Section 3294 of the Civil Code on a default judgment by serving upon the defendant the following statement, or its substantial equivalent: NOTICE TO : (Insert name of defendant or cross-defendant) reserves the right to seek (Insert name of plaintiff or cross-complainant) $ in punitive damages (Insert dollar amount) when seeks a judgment in the (Insert name of plaintiff orcross-complainant) suit filed against you. (Insert name of attorney orparty appearing in propria persona)(Date)

(c) If the plaintiff seeks punitive damages pursuant to Section 3294 of the Civil Code, and if the defendant appears in the action, the plaintiff shall not be limited to the amount set forth in the statement served on the defendant pursuant to this section.

(d) A plaintiff who serves a statement on the defendant pursuant to this section shall be deemed to have complied with Sections 425.10 and 580 of this code and Section 3295 of the Civil Code.

(e) The plaintiff may serve a statement upon the defendant pursuant to this section, and may serve the statement as part of the statement required by Section 425.11.

(f) The plaintiff shall serve the statement upon the defendant pursuant to this section before a default may be taken, if the motion for default judgment includes a request for punitive damages.

(g) The statement referred to in subdivision (b) shall be served by one of the following methods:

(1) If the party has not appeared in the action, the statement shall be served in the same manner as a summons pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 415.10) of Chapter 4 of Title 5 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(2) If the party has appeared in the action, the statement shall be served upon his or her attorney, or upon the party if he or she has appeared without an attorney, either in the same manner as a summons pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 415.10) of Chapter 4 or in the manner provided by Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 1010) of Title 14.

Plain-English Summary

Punitive damages sit in a special category under California law: Civil Code § 3294 lets a plaintiff seek them, but a default judgment cannot award more in punitive damages than the defendant was told about in advance. Section 425.115 is the mechanism that gives that notice.

Subdivision (b) sets out the required content — a specific statement, or its substantial equivalent, telling the defendant the exact dollar amount of punitive damages being reserved. Subdivision (d) makes serving that statement equivalent to complying with § 425.10's general pleading requirements and Civil Code § 3295's punitive-damages procedures, so a plaintiff who serves it correctly does not need a separate compliance step. Subdivision (f) requires the statement to be served before a default may be taken whenever the default judgment motion includes a request for punitive damages.

If the defendant appears and defends the case, subdivision (c) removes the ceiling: the plaintiff is not limited to the number in the served statement once the case is being actively litigated. The cap in this section exists specifically to protect a defendant who never shows up and is at risk of a punitive award decided without any adversarial testing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why would a plaintiff need to serve a separate statement about punitive damages?

Section 425.115(b) lets a plaintiff preserve the right to seek punitive damages on a default judgment by serving the defendant with a statement disclosing the specific amount sought. Without it, a defaulting defendant would have had no notice of a punitive exposure.

Is the plaintiff capped at the amount stated in the § 425.115 notice?

Only if the defendant defaults. Section 425.115(c) states that if the defendant appears in the action, the plaintiff is not limited to the amount set forth in the statement served under this section.

Can this statement be combined with the § 425.11 statement of damages?

Yes. Section 425.115(e) allows the statement under this section to be served as part of the statement required by § 425.11.

When must the § 425.115 statement be served relative to a default?

Section 425.115(f) requires service on the defendant before a default may be taken, whenever the default judgment motion includes a request for punitive damages.

Amendment History

Amended by Stats 2005 ch 706 (AB 1742),s 12, eff. 1/1/2006

Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature. Last verified July 28, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: punitive damages default judgment californianotice of punitive damages californiapreserving punitive damages on default