Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Depending upon the circumstances, the court may give them the default judgment right away or may require a somewhat lengthy prove-up process. If the court has already entered your default -- which is different from a default judgment and which is usually requested first -- you will need to move to set the default aside before you do anything else. You should follow essentially the same procedure if the default judgment has already been entered.

If it is clear that you were not served properly, then you may want to call the other side's lawyers and see if they will stipulate to set aside the default and the default judgment, if any. There's a realistic chance they will if they see that your motion to set aside is very likely to succeed.

Finally, get a lawyer to represent you if at all possible. You will only get one shot at the set-aside motion. These motions are not terribly complex for lawyers, but there are many ways a layperson can mess them up. If that happens to you there may be no way to make things right later.

Good luck.

That's an excellent answer from Mr. Hoffman. I would add, however, that the best and safest way to determine if the default has been entered or not is to go down to the court with an answer to the complaint in hand and ask if the default has been entered; if not, file the answer. Lay people seem to think that a motion to quash is some magical "go free" card, that if they win the case goes away. All it does is make the plaintiff re-serve you properly, which they will eventually do one way or another. So if you know about the lawsuit and have a copy of the complaint, just file an answer. If the default has been entered, as Mr. Hoffman says, it is so easy for a lawyer to get a default set aside that most attorneys will just agree to it. Call up the other side and ask. If they refuse, you'll need a lawyer to help you with the motion, but there's a good chance the court will order the other side to reimburse your fees.

I agree with both previous answers. Find out if your default was entered. If it was, you will need to file a motion to vacate the default, pointing out the invalid service. You will have to have a copy of your proposed answer attached as an exhibit. If no default has been entered, file your answer immediately.