Legal Question in Business Law in California

How did you find out you are being blamed? Was there an attempt to serve you? Defendants sometimes rely upon some defect in service of process to ignore a lawsuit. This is risky. It is a fact that the court has no jurisdiction over you until you have been served, but sometimes courts will overlook minor defects in service of process when the attempt at service has given the defendant effective notice of the suit and the accusations therein.

I'd suggest two things. First, contact your insurance agent and make a report about the incudent, the blame being placed on you, what you know about the incident and the basis for the blame, etc. and any defenses you would have if sued.

Then, I'd go to the courthouse serving the location where the accident took place, and ask the clerk of the civil department whether there is any record of a recent suit being filed against you or your business. It may well be that a suit has been filed and the process server hasn't found you yet. If there is a suit on file, get copies of all papers filed in the case so far. You can also have the clerk search by the plaintiff's (injured party's) name - maybe there is a suit but it names someone else as the main defendant.

In short, don't totally rely on defective or non-service.........it is occasionally overlooked, and also plaintiffs often quickly correct shortcomings in their process-serving, so act promptly and alertly to defend yourself, including possibly having a lawyer make a "special appearance" to object to a defective service.