Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: Proof of service

Generally, you must be served within 60 days.....

you should consult with an attorney as soon as you are served....the law places strict guidelines for answering the suit and harsh penalties if you do not comply. Thanks for your question and good luck.

Re: Proof of service

You risk a default and default judgment being entered against you if you do not respond, since you know about the lawsuit. Speak to a lawyer in your neck of the woods to figure out what to do. Good luck!

Re: Proof of service

As long as the court will allow on extensions and service by publication (newspaper), if they do not serve you in person. I would recommend you do not evade service as the court will not look on that with pleasure. Retain counsel.

Re: Proof of service

Others have given the right answers.

Re: Proof of service

Mr. Cohen's answer is incorrect. Even if you know about a lawsuit, you need not answer until you have been properly served. The court does not have personal jurisdiction over you until service has been properly carried out and it may not enter any orders against you until it has such jurisdiction.

Note that *proper* service does not have to be *personal* service. It is not necessary for a process server to hand you the summons and complaint. Another method is substituted service, which involves a combination of leaving a copy of the papers at the defendant's address and then mailing another copy. (I'm oversimplifying a bit, but this is basically how it is done.) As one of the other answers points out, defendants who cannot be located can often be served via publication of a notice in a local newspaper. This can only be done with the court's permission, and courts won't grant such permission unless the plaintiff has taken all reasonable steps to try a more direct method of service.

There is always the risk that the plaintiff will tell the court you have been served even if you haven't. Sometimes plaintiffs do this intentionally, but more often it is the result of an innocent mistake -- as when a defendant has recently moved and the plaintiff is unaware of that fact, or when the service is carried out incorrectly). The court may start entering orders against you if this has happened; those orders will be void but can still cause you trouble (since no one will realize that they're void) and may be expensive to correct later.

You should check with the clerk of the court to see whether the a proof of service has been filed. Make sure to ask specifically about a proof of service on you, since there may be other defendants who have been served already.

Good luck.