Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Is it really worthwhile to quash service? They will simply re-serve you. So unless you think they will not successfully serve you again or you need the extra time [law suit involves piece of property in process of being sold, etc.], is it not fundamentally a waste of time and money to file the Motion. You have to set aside any emotional reaction to what the other side does in order to get the best result you can.

At this point, you have a certain amount of time to answer before they can move for a default. You should file your motion before then [and the ruling may not be immediate--check with the court clerk of the judge who will hear it as to how long it takes for a ruling] so that if you lose you then are not in the position of having to file a motion to set aside the default.

not proof read

Scheduling for any motion = (time estimate for drafting motion + 16 court days + 5 days for service by mail)

What Mr. Stone means is that you cannot schedule any motion earlier than the time it will take for you to serve it and the 16 court days required prior to hearing. That is set forth in Code of Civil Procedure section 1005, subdivision (b). So by his example, if you have the motion completed, you would need to calendar a date after service is complete, meaning five days after you mail it. Then you need to ensure that the date is at least 16 court days (not calendar days) before the hearing.