MICHAEL D. MARCUS’S MEDIATION MESSAGE NO. 134 TRIAL COURTS ARE GATEKEEPERS AS TO DEFAULT APPLICATIONS Grappo v. McMills (2017) 11 Cal.App.5th 996 sends a strong statement to both attorneys and, in particular, the trial courts that applications for default judgments must be closely scrutinized and that only appropriate claims should be approved. In Grappo, appellant Donald Grappo, representing himself, filed a complaint alleging ten causes of action, seven of which were in one paragraph, the…