Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

My guess is that they have the correct party who has the same name as you, and the letter from the attorney service got the wrong person. The first thing to do is check with the court again in about 45 - 60 days after the lawsuit was filed to see if an answer has been served on behalf of the person with the same name. If so, that means they know who the right person is and have them, not you, as the defendant. If no answer has been filed, check if a proof of service was filed by the plaintiff for service on a person with your name. Until an answer or a proof of service has been filed, without you being served, there's nothing to worry about and nothing really you can do. The only point at which you need to be concerned is if either they serve you, or you see a proof of service on a person with your name, but no answer on behalf of that person. If that happens, call a lawyer.

The "letter" from the attorney service actually might be service of the summons and complaint by U.S. mail pursuant to an order of the court. If it's available, you might go online and see if there's an order permitting service by mail. Otherwise, head down to the local courthouse to look at the file, as Mr. McCormick suggests. If there's some possibility that you've actually been served, you might call the plaintiff's attorney and tell the attorney that you have no knowledge of this incident or the correct party. The attorney might want you to write in a formal document, certified under oath, that you're not the party. It does happen occasionally, especially with people with more common names.