Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

I do limited scope representation.

"Serve" means you have somebody who isn't you and who's over 18 mail one copy to each other party to the lawsuit (to their attorney). The warm body to whom you have delegated this task then fills out a declaration that yes, he or she did mail the copies of the interrogatory by U.S. Mail on such and such a date, yada yada yada. An copy of this declaration, also known as a "proof of service," is then stapled to the back of the interrogatories or whatever you are serving or filing. Once someone becomes a participant in a lawsuit, which occurs by "appearing" in court or by being personally served, you can serve them by mail from then on.

If they have appeared in the action, they can be served by mail. "Appeared" is defined in Code of Civil Procedure section 1014. Code of Civil Procedure section 1013 explains that you serve by mail at the address listed by the other party at the address they have listed in the papers they have filed with the court. Code of Civil Procedure section 1013a explains how the proof of service is made.

As Mr. Stone, pointed out, you can't be a party to the action and serve documents. It requires a nonparty, over the age of 18. It can be your secretary, your girlfriend, your drinking buddy, etc.

I just love attorneys like Mr. Stone when I get into a discovery dispute. If you follow his instructions, your service will be invalid. Since I don't want to tip him off as to why, should we ever be "across the table" from each other, feel free to contact me by email for an explaination.

You should serve the copies with the proof of service unsigned, since the person "serving" them can't attest in advance to the fact that he/she put them in a postage-paid envelope that was then sealed (by signing the proof of service) and put them in a mailbox before he/she actually mails the documents. I think that's why Mr. McCormick has a problem with what Mr. Stone recommends. However, keep the original signed proof of service attached to your original interrogatories. (The truth is, many law firms serve the discovery with signed proofs of service.)