Civil Procedure
Jul. 20, 2026
How one vowel beat a $6.5 million judgment
One vowel unraveled a $6.5 million default judgment against Jermaine Jackson--but the real lesson is service by publication, where exact compliance is the price of notice by legal fiction.
Timothy M. Kowal
Founder and Certified Appellate Specialist focusing on complex trials and appeals in California courts
Kowal Law Group
Phone: (949) 676-9989
Email: Tim@KowalLawGroup.com
Chapman Univ SOL; Orange CA
Last month, one vowel voided a $6.5 million default judgment against Jermaine Jackson--a default entered in a revived 1988 sexual-assault suit. Back in 2013, Jackson had obtained a court decree respelling his surname, Jacksun, pronounced exactly as before; the plaintiff sued and served him under the old spelling. The coverage fixed on the name change; the more useful story is the mechan...
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