Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
On May 11th, I was sued in Superior Court for several causes of action, all related to an alleged embezzlement of $1.4 million.
On June 4th, they amended that complaint to include 10 total defense parties....all fully named, not just doe's.
On June 17th, they finally served me....the amended complaint (never served original)
Over next couple weeks, they served a couple of the other parties, who eventually cross complained against me. (I knew they would and had discussed with their attorneys prior to)
It is now September 10th, and there are six parties that they haven't served yet.
My question is, is it too late for them to serve those other six parties? I only ask because I keep spending time to answer, answer demurrer, etc. etc. Want to know if I'm going to have to worry about those cross complaints as well. Not to mention, I know these people and would prefer they don't have to get served. I saw the service rules...and it seems they should have been served within 30 days of the amended complaint (maybe 60 days if that is considered initial complaint as to them). Either way, that time has long expired.....are they free/clear of this suit?
3 Answers from Attorneys
Unless and until the court orders otherwise, the remaining defendants / cross-defendants can still be served. The plaintiffs / cross-complainants who are taking so long to serve them could eventually be sanctioned if they don't complete the service and if their delays are unjustifiable. But it will be quite a while before the court will dismiss their complaints on that basis.
Absolutely not. It is 60 days as to them since they have never been served, and that deadline is purely a case management deadline, not a substantive deadline. The court will order the plaintiff's counsel to come in and explain why he or she missed the deadline, eventually, and the attorney will be given at least one or two more deadlines before the court will dismiss the case as to the unserved defendants. Until that happens (which it pretty much never does, since any attorney in their right mind eventually either serves or voluntarily dismisses all defendants before pissing off the judge too much) they are still in the case.
No they are not. The failure of a plaintiff to follow court rules and serve an amended complaint within the rules of court governing fast track cases has nothing to do with the named defendants, and does not give them an automatic out.
You are in a lot of trouble and being sued for a huge sum of money. Please get an attorney to assist you in the defense of this matter.
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