Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: Legal summons? And, does anyone care?

If the lawsuit was in California court, then you were not properly served. The plaintiff should have served you at your home or place of business. Assuming the location of your P.O. Box is not your place of business, and assuming that you had no knowledge of the proceedings before you heard about the default, then you have a good shot at overturning the default.

Re: Legal summons? And, does anyone care?

I agree with Mr. Mickelson, but I want to add that you need to act promptly. If you just learned of these events then the courts will be sympathetic to you and should overturn the judgment, but the longer you wait the less sympathetic they will become.

Also, keep in mind that getting the default and judgment set aside does not mean you win the case. It simply means that the case will proceed while you actively defend yourself, just as it would have if you had started defending yourself when the case was new.

Good luck.

Re: Legal summons? And, does anyone care?

Following up on my colleagues' comments: You would bring a motion, promptly, under Cal. Code of Civil Procedure sec. 473(a), with your declaration under penalty of perjury explaining your excusable neglect, inadvertence or surprise. I don't blame you for throwing it out. I would think it's junk mail, too! -Robert

Re: Legal summons? And, does anyone care?

Yes, you were properly served because the contract you signed with the Commercial Mail Receiving Agency contains a clause that says you appoint the CMRA your agent for service of process. See Cal. Business & Professions Code Sec. 17538.5. So you do not have a claim that you were not properly served, and I respectfully disagree with my colleagues on that point. But you might still have a motion under Cal. Code of Civil Procedure Section 473 to have the default judgment set aside for your "mistake, surprise, inadvertence or excusable neglect" if you act promptly. You might also try, in your motion, challenging the validity of Section 17538.5 as unconstitutional! Good luck.

Re: Legal summons? And, does anyone care?

If you act quickly you can request the Court set aside the judgement.

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Re: Legal summons? And, does anyone care?

If you feel that you have a case on the merits and good defense or potential cross-complaint, you should have an attorney make a motion to set aside the default. If you do not have a defense, even though the Plaintiff may be incorrect, you may just be wasting your money by having it set aside. You may ask an attorney to try to arrange a settlement for you.