Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: Stalling a lawsuit

The short answer is your were probably served. While the preferred method of service for a summons and complaint is by personally handing you a copy, defendants can be served in the manner you describe. Once that service is complete, you then have 30 days to answer the complaint. If you fail to answer the complaint, you will loose significant legal rights (i.e., you will eventually have a judgment entered against you.) YOU SHOULD IMMEDIATELY SEEK LEGAL COUNSEL!

The only way to "contest" the service is by way of a motion to quash service of the summons. While you may choose to follow this path, your chances of success, based upon the information you have provided in your question, are probably not very good. This area of the law is quite complex, and even under the best of circumstances these motions are not very successful.

You may consider telephoning the plaintiff's counsel and asking them to grant you a short extension of time within which to respond. Most attorneys are willing to grant such an extension. However, depending upon the court where the case is pending, the attorney may not be able to give you more than one 15 or 30 day extension, because they may be prevented from doing so by court rule.

Bottom line - YOU MUST DO SOMETHING within 30 days of being served. I suggest seeking the advice of an attorney in your area and enlisting his or her help.