Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Who cares! They'll say you've been served, the court will believe them, and you'll be squat out of luck unless your lawyer responds within 30 days.

It is considered served if the other person is an adult, and a copy is mailed to you at the same address. Answer or otherwise respond within 30 days of the service. If it's later than 30 days, and no default has been entered, respond immediately.

Although I have never met the man, and have no connection to him other than that we both independently volunteer to answer questions on LawGuru.com, I apologize for what a horse's behind Mr. Stone is. Now, to answer your question, the answer is "not yet." If the summons and complaint are delivered to a person who is 18 years old or older, the first half of "substitute service" has been accomplished. The process server then must mail a copy to the same address, and then service becomes effective ten days after the mailing. So: once a copy has been hand delivered to a person at the defendant's address, AND a copy is mailed to the defendant at the same address, AND ten days have passed, THEN the defendant is served and a responsive pleading must be filed in 30 days, i.e., 40 days after the date of mailing.

The short answer is that unless you have a really good reason for contesting service, it would be better to use your resources to defend the action. Service to a competent adult at your address is generally considered good service. There are, of course, some exceptions which are dependent on specific facts. The plaintiff will, however, claim that you have been served and if you don't respond within thirty days of the purported service, they will request that a default be entered against you. You can, where appropriate, contest service but the Courts are generally not sympathetic to those claims and will, among other things, ask your lawyer if there is a reason he cannot accept service. If you go to Court to contest service they will simply serve you in the Court.

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