Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California
serving a defendant in a law suit
1. what is the time frame for serving a person once a lawsuit has been filed against them with the courts?
2. what do you do if party cannot be found to serve them?
Asked on 2/27/08, 4:44 pm
1 Answer from Attorneys
Robert F. Cohen
Law Office of Robert F. Cohen
Re: serving a defendant in a law suit
60 days. If you can't serve and exercise diligence by hiring a private investigator, then you can apply to the court to serve by publication (Daily Journal, a designated community paper). However, if you eventually obtain a judgment, you might even have a hard time collecting, unless you know more about the person's finances or the private investigator can do that, too.
Answered on 2/27/08, 6:18 pm