Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Under California state law, the date for statute of limitations purposes is the date that the complaint was filed, not the date it was served on you. Nor should it matter that the plaintiff filed (and apparently dismissed) a prior, similar lawsuit; that normally will not toll the limitations period. So the only real question is whether the statute of limitations has passed by the time the current lawsuit was filed.

I'm with Herb. Unless the prior suit is still pending, if the limitations period had run before this suit was filed, all the rest doesn't matter. Date of service does not matter, but if the prior suit is still pending, and was filed in time, he might be able to serve you with that suit now. In any case, however, you should move to dismiss this suit if it was filed after the limitations period.

I agree with Mr. Fox and Mr. McCormick. But assuming that the limitations period really had expired before the complaint was filed, your remedy is either a demurrer or a motion to strike. There are time limits for both of these motions, so don't delay. Motions to quash are about whether you were served properly, not about whether the lawsuit is time-barred. It is possible to be properly served with papers even if the lawsuit itself is improper.