Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: Cant Find Defendant

Have your attorney file a motion for an extension or raise the issue at the next case management conference. He or she should also be aware of the various professional skip tracing and process serving companies.

Re: Cant Find Defendant

If you and/or your lawyer have already tried the steps Mr. Stone suggests, another option is to ask the court to let you serve the complaint via publication in a newspaper near the defendant's last known address. The odds she will see the publication and respond are very low, but you will be able to proceed to a default judgment once you have served her by any method, including publication.

Don't just go ahead and take out an ad on your own, though. You need the court's permission first, and you need to make sure it is published properly.