Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Thank you for your answers....

When I was served with the complaint, I did not have an attorney, so I filed the answer as best I could, and marked the box "cross complaint" but did not attach a statement. A few weeks later, I found an attorney and told him I wanted to file a cross complaint, but he said it was too late. this was 10 weeks before the trial date.

CCP 426.50 states any time during the course of the action.

Am I missing something..?

It was a bench trial only 2 hours, judge asked if there was a cross complaint.

I said Yes, my attorney said No .... I lost the case, and am trying to appeal in pro per...

could do with some help...


Asked on 10/02/09, 4:37 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

You don't have grounds for appeal for your own failure to file a cross-complaint. Also, if you filed your answer "a few weeks" and then "10 weeks" before the trial, this doesn't sound like a standard civil case. Was this an unlawful detainer? Anyway, the 426.xxx sections only apply to regular civil actions, not special proceedings such as UD. Courts generally disfavor cross-complaints in UD anyway, and the statutes allow only limited grounds for cross-complaints in UD so that tenants can't just automatically file a cross-complaint and drag things out to live rent free.

The good news is that if this was not a regular civil action, whether UD or some other proceeding, the rule that if you don't plead it you lose it doesn't apply either. So if you have a genuine case you can still file it as a separate law suit.

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Answered on 10/02/09, 6:15 pm
OCEAN BEACH ASSOCIATES OCEAN BEACH ASSOCIATES

Your attorney may have tried to make a motion to file a cross-complaint late. You should have received credit for any damages awarded against you for any caused by the plaintiff. Contact me directly.

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Answered on 10/03/09, 3:00 pm


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