Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: Judge ruled against me

You had the opportunity to respond to their opposition to your motion. Whether you availed yourself of that opportunity is unknown. Unless the judge abused the judge's discretion in making the factual determination, an appellate court will not set aside the judge's ruling. If you have new evidence that was unavailable at the time of the hearing, you have a small window of time in which to file for a motion to reconsider.

Re: Judge ruled against me

First, you must understand that there is a difference between a hearing on a motion and a trial. Your question makes me wonder what was calendared to happen when you appeared on your motion to dismiss - a hearing on your motion, or the trial itself? Some motions can be made just before or during trial, others must be brought earlier, e.g. within a certain time after service.

If your grounds are that the court lacked personal jurisdiction over you because of defective service or failure to serve, this is a valid ground and can be asserted at any time. Nevertheless, apparently the court considered some evidence on the issue and ruled against you. It will be difficult to overturn the court's decision if this is the case.

In a limited civil matter, one cannot appeal from an order denying a motion to dismiss. Code of Civil Procedure section 904.2. Of course, one can appeal from a final judgment. Appeal in a limited civil matter is to the appellate division of the superior court.

I assume you are in pro. per. If so, maybe it is time to give up the notion that you can represent yourself.

An experienced litigator can determine where you went wrong, and advise whether to appeal a judgment, file for a writ of mandate, ask for reconsideration, or whether to give up.

My experience with attempts to throw a case out of court for failure to serve process properly merely results in the plaintiff correcting the alleged mistake by re-serving the defendant. Then, the case gets tried on its merits anyway. Resisting justice on the basis of improper service is therefore usually a waste of time and money against a determined opponent.