Department of Fair Employment & Housing v. Ottovich

Opinion

RIVERA, J.

The Department of Fair Employment and Housing (the Department) brought this action against defendant Harvey Ottovich 1 alleging he engaged in housing discrimination. After Ottovich engaged in abusive discovery tactics, the trial court sanctioned him by striking his answer to the complaint and entering a default judgment. The trial court later vacated the default, but continued to treat the answer as stricken. Treating the unanswered allegations of the complaint as judicially admitted, the trial court granted summary judgment to the Department on the issue of liability. A jury…