Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
Jurisdiction
My boyfriend would like to sue Los Angeles County Child Support Services Department for fraud.They have made a statement that we know is not true for the purpose of not having to compromise his arrears owed to the state as required by law and have not even compromised the arrears they admit are owed to the state.A claim for damages to the county (a required procedure before filing suit against the government)was rejected and he may now sue them.Regardless of how unadvisable it may be, we must proceed without an attorney for we cannot afford one.The only obstacle in our way,is travelling to California for hearings (we live in Indiana).My question is, does he have to sue them in California?I know that sometimes if a state agrieves a person he may file in any federal court.I doubt that my proposed action could be pursued anywhere but California.I believe the case is valid but how a judge would decide is not predictable.At any rate I would prefer to proceed and lose the case than to let it rest.If you wonder why we don't settle this in family court,our local district attorney is pursuing it, but the outcome of the family law aspect does not settle the fraud perpetrated by this agency and that must be pursued as well.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Jurisdiction
I would like to hear more about your case. You would have to file in a California court. Possibly you have a Federal case for violation of your civil rights. I have heard many horror stories about this particular agency and I only believe every word.
Re: Jurisdiction
He will have to sue in California. He is complaining about actions taken in California by a California government agency, and the courts of other states have no jurisdiction over such matters. Parties who move to a different state before a disputeis resolved do not carry jurisdiction with them.
Even if the courts of other states could decide the case, they would have to do so according to California law. If each state could subject California's official actions to its own legal standards, then the state government would be held to fifty different -- and often contradictory -- sets of requirements. What's more, the state would have no way of knowing ahead of time which state's laws would be invoked in any given case.
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