Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
Before our divorce, my ex wife and I were signatories for a secured business line of credit for a corporation for which we were both officers.
She was served by a process server at home which named both her and individually as parties to the lawsuit for the LOC in defualt.
I was never served personally or otherwise and only know about the lawsuit because of her sending a copy for review.
Is this not considered a failure to properly serve all parties with legal notice which then entitles me to file motion a for dismissal?
3 Answers from Attorneys
They didn't serve you, and you are complaining? You could monitor the court's web site, if your county superior court offers this capability, to see if they filed a proof of service for you (don't physically look up the case at the courthouse yourself, you'd have to show ID and it would be noted in the case file that you had notice of the lawsuit). No attorney would file a motion of any kind for you unless and until you are served. Unless you signed a personal guarantee for the loan, only the corporation is liable. Do not file anything with the court without first retaining an attorney.
Failure to serve you personally (assuming that you were named as an individual, which is what I assume you are stating) will not lead to a dismissal. The plaintiff can proceed against your ex-wife and your corporation; your community estate may be liable for the claim because this appears to be a community obligation. Further, as soon as the plaintiff realizes that you claim you were not served, you will be served, assuming that is necessary,
My advice is to consult an attorney - and/or your divorce attorney - immediately.
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It is not clear from your post whether you are even a party to the lawsuit. Maybe you meant to say you were also named as a party, but I can't tell from the way your post is worded. Only named parties to a lawsuit have to be served.
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