Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California
CA. Unlawful Detainer -
Have 2 people in apt. Both names are on rental agreement. They are together as a couple.
Tenants were served with 3-day pay or quit. No response. Filed with court. Female was
served with summons. She answered the door. My understanding is that because they are a couple, either one of them could be served and would notify the other. Court rejected Proof of
Service saying - both people have to be served. What do I do. I am the owner, and I am loosing money everyday this couple continues to hold over.
4 Answers from Attorneys
You must attempt several times [many courts use three times] at different hours of the day t serve personally each person residing there. Only after such atttempts can you give the summons and complaint to an adult reasonably calculated to give it to the person to be served. If you want to move quickly, go after the woman now while you re-serve the male partner; they may not realize that even though you get an order of eviction against her he could probably legally invite her to stay there. Maybe if you kick her out he will leave too?
You can serve everyone there without having to hand it to everyone there personally, per the code. One example is a post and mail, etc. However, if you hand delivered, the proof may be wrong but the service may apply to everyone there. Would have to check. Let me know if I can help - I have dealt with UD service.
Best,
Daniel Bakondi, Esq. [email protected] 415-450-0424
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The unlawful detainer process can be unforgiving if the procedures are not followed to the letter. I invite you to contact our office at http://www.higagipsonllp.com to discuss your situation.
Don't listen to these money grubbing amateurs. You don't need to waste your money on a lawyer. But you do need to spend your money on a professional process server who knows how to properly serve all the people who need to be served. You could have effectively served the man by delivering the papers to the woman, but only if you followed the proper procedure. A professional process server would have done that for you for about $60 per person. I use onelegal.com. There are others, but I find them easiest to use and most responsive. And they will call you right away if you have messed something up, which even I as a 23-year litigator sometimes to.