Can an order denying relief from default be appealed from a motion to set aside the judgment?

Appellant asserts that the defects in the default judgment are jurisdictional, and can therefore be raised on appeal from an order denying a motion to set aside the judgment. However, as discussed in more detail in the following part, the order here was, despite being couched as a conditional denial of relief, in law and effect a conditional grant of relief. Moreover, the authority cited by appellant does not support the proposition for which she cites it. In Stevenson v. Turner (1979) 94 Cal.App.3d 315 [156 Cal.Rptr. 499] (Stevenson), the appeal was taken directly from the default judgment. This is somewhat puzzling, since the court appeared to conclude that the motion for relief from default had been brought more than six months after the judgment, and if that was true, any later appeal was certainly untimely. (See id. at p. 318.) That we are forced to infer critical details, however, says much about the care with which the jurisdictional issues in the case were addressed. Ultimately the court held that it had the discretion to consider whether the judgment was defective for noncompliance with Code of Civil Procedure section 425.11, even though the point was not raised in the trial court, and that the judgment should be reversed on that ground. (94 Cal.App.3d at pp. 319-320.) There is no treatment of any question of appellate jurisdiction other than the dictum, "An order denying relief from default is not appealable, although the propriety of the order may be reviewed on appeal from the judgment." (Id. at p. 317.)

[164 Cal.App.4th 1137]