Legal Question in Business Law in California

You need to be a little more specific. I can't tell if you are asking a question about lawyers practicing law who are listed as "inactive" with the State Bar (which they are not) or a corporation suing while dissolving, or a corporation that has been suspended for nonpayment of taxes.

There is a group of questions an attorney would need to ask and have answered in order to even begin to advise you. First, exactly what do you mean by "raise a case?" Do you mean "sue in a court of law?" or simply hire a bill collector? or something else?

Next, what sort of an "inactive firm?" If you mean a dissolved corporation, yes, it can sue, but only in connection with winding up business transacted before dissolution. A corporation which has been suspended by the Secretary of State (typically for nonpayment of its taxes), on the other hand, cannot sue in California courts unless and until it has been reinstated - and there are other limitations.

Finally, throughout the United States and in much of the World, a person or business cannot be brought before a court of law for purposes of taking legal action against them until they have been served, giving the court personal jurisdiction. Further, a court cannot exercise jurisdiction of any case unless there is some connection between the subject or people involved and the state where the court is located. For example, if there is an auto accident in Utah involving a driver from Idaho and another driver from Arizona, the lawsuit cannot be brought in a California court, although jurisdiction in either Idaho, Utah or Arizona might be proper (I don't practice law in those states so this is a guess).

So, I invite you to ask your question again, but with substantially more details.