Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: How can I get an afidavit admited as evidence in CA ?

There really isn't much you can do about this. The reason hearsay isn't allowed in court is that the other side will not be able to cross-examine the person who made the statement. The affidavits you want to use are prime examples of evidence which causes that problem.

There are exceptions to the hearsay rule, but most of them relate to the circumstances under which the statement was made -- a dying declaration, for example, or certain types of regularly-kept business records. There are exceptions based upon to the statement's relationship to prior statements by the same person (for example, has the witness contradicted herself), but these generally apply only to prior statements by a witness who testifies at trial.

The hearsay rule has too many nuances and exceptions to explain here. Since I know nothing about the statements you want admitted or about what you hope they will demonstrate, I can't say whether they would be admissible or not. The odds are not in your favor, though.

Re: How can I get an afidavit admited as evidence in CA ?

I agree with Mr. Hoffman's analysis of the difficulties you would encounter in using affidavits in lieu of live testimony. Particularly if you are in pro. per. and not an attorney, and the other side is represented by counsel, you would be subjected to a flurry of objections, mostly well-founded, and probably wouldn't get any of your proposed evidence admitted.

As he points out, there are some limited exceptions to the hearsay rule, but they are narrow and technical and the chances are great that they wouldn't apply, or you wouldn't have the legal knowledge and experience to explain to the judge, before he rules on a motion to strike, why a particular part of your affidavit should be admissible for a particular purpose.

A better way to obtain admissible testimony from faraway witnesses is to take their depositions. This can be done either by submission of written questions or orally. Deposition testimony of distant (over 150 miles from the courthouse) non-party witnesses is generally admissible against a party who had notice of the deposition. Depositions give opposing counsel their opportunity to cross-examine. Depositions are taken before a court reporter at a private (non-courtroom) location and they can be videotaped.

Trying cases in superior court is tricky business even for trained lawyers, and you may be in for a rude awakening if you try to represent yourself. I've done it, and even though I am a lawyer, it's difficult to handle the dual roles of attorney and client in live courtroom action.

If you file your case, upon it being assigned to a judge, take some time to sit in that judge's courtroom during an actual trial before yours comes up. Try for one of similar complexity and nature. Try to imagine how you would handle the responsibilities of the attorneys.