Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

In California, unlimited Civil action, the defendant made an appearance by filing a demurrer and MTS. A FAC was filed before demurrer hearing and was delivered directly to defense attorneys office.
Does a general appearance by defense counsel for all defendants, including a CA corporation indicate that counsel is authorized to accept service?

Asked on 4/13/12, 9:28 am

3 Answers from Attorneys

Mark Saltzman, MBA, JD Law Offices of Mark E. Saltzman

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Yes. The attorney who made the appearance is the defendant's attorney of record. You may serve that attorney.

Answered on 4/13/12, 9:37 am

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Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

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I agree with Mr. Saltzman. Also, because the defendants have appeared in the case, you do not have to serve documents personally. There are a few exceptions to this rule, but generally documents can be served my mail or overnight delivery (FedEx, UPS, etc.) instead. They can also be served by fax if the parties agree in writing to allow fax service. Note, though, that you will generally need to serve documents earlier by those means than you would by personal service. Most documents must be served two days earlier if served by fax or overnight delivery, five days earlier for mail within California, ten days earlier for mail to or from another state, and twenty days earlier for mail to or from another country.

Answered on 4/13/12, 11:42 am

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