Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

can i file a small claims suit with only a first name for the defendant


Asked on 7/26/14, 11:34 am

2 Answers from Attorneys

Armen Tashjian Law Offices of Armen M. Tashjian

Let's say you do and he doesn't show up and you get a judgment. How are you going to enforce that judgment? So no, if you have to hire a private investigator to find out his last name you should do that.

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Answered on 7/26/14, 11:58 am

You can legally sue under "[First name] Doe" and amend to add the last name later, but you can't get a judgment and you can't enforce a judgment, unless you have the full legal name of the defendant.

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Answered on 7/27/14, 5:12 pm


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