Levine v. Smith

In Levine v. Smith (2006) 145 Cal.App.4th 1131, the plaintiff sued her attorneys for professional negligence, breach of contract, fraud, and infliction of emotional distress based on the failure to provide competent legal services. (Levine, supra, 145 Cal.App.4th at p. 1134.) Her complaint alleged damages "'in an amount according to proof.'" (Id. at p. 1136.) She filed a statement of damages setting forth the amount of damages she was seeking. (Ibid.) The court held the action was one for legal malpractice, and the cause of action for emotional distress was based on the same professional negligence. (Id. at p. 1137.) Further, a plaintiff generally could not recover emotional distress damages for legal malpractice. As such, the action was not for personal injury or wrongful death, and the court could not use the statement of damages as the basis for damages in the default judgment. The court had to strictly construe the statute requiring that damages be set forth in the complaint. Therefore, the award in the default judgment was limited to the amount of damages specified in the complaint, which was nothing. (Ibid.)