Is service of statement of damages still necessary?
Yes, definitely. If this is a personal injury lawsuit, you the plaintiff need to first serve the statement of damages before seeking a default judgment. Statements of damages are used in personal injury and wrongful death cases in which plaintiff may not allege damages in the complaint. (Code Civ. Proc., § 425.11.)
In seeking a default judgment in California, the relief sought must be within the amount of prayer of complaint. “It is fundamental to the concept of due process that a defendant be given notice of the existence of a lawsuit and notice of the specific relief which is sought in the complaint served upon him.” (Marriage of Lippel (1990) 51 Cal.3d 1160, 1166.)