Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

I filed a Demurrer to the Unlawful Detainer Complaint and received a hearing date from the clerk for the middle of August. (California)

Now I found out that my Demurrer has been overruled because I was absent from the hearing. The Plaintiff failed to give me a notice about the new hearing date for the Demurrer which was requested in an Ex Parte hearing. I received neither the Ex Parte notice nor the notice for the Earlier Demurrer hearing, so I could not show up. I've just learned from the clerk about the situation by accident. A default has not been entered yet, I still have 4 days to answer.

My goal is to get a new hearing date for my Demurrer so that I can present my case in court.

Now I have two questions:

1. Can I file a Motion to Quash Service of Summons, because I have neither received the Ex Parte notice, nor the Notice for the earlier Demurrer hearing? Or is it possible to file any other Motion to let the court know that I have not received anything and want a new hearing date?

I do not want to file an answer just yet, because I feel the way the Plaintiff is treating me is not right and he should have sent me those notices.

2. Is it possible to extend the 5 day answer for another 5 days or even 10 days, so that I can get proper legal help? Is the Plaintiff able to get a Default Judgement even though an extension was granted during my 5 day answer period? (Note: I have not requested any extensions yet, so this would be my first one)


Asked on 7/30/11, 3:33 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Philip Iadevaia Law Offices of Philip A. Iadevaia

Demurrers are a waste of time. And the reason it was overruled is most likely because it had no merit. Your opposition knows this and unscrupulously failed to give you notice of the ex parte application to shorten the time for the demurrer.

If you have legitimate reasons for not paying your rent, you can state them in your answer. If you have no legitimate reason for not paying your rent, then you have no defense and will lose the case. If you have a written agreement that provides for attorney fees, you will certainly be charged the fees incurred by the opposition in responding to your frivolous motions.

You cannot extend the time the court gave you to answer. My advice to you is to stop wasting time and forcing the other side to incur costs and fees and try to settle the case before you find yourself owing hundreds or thousands more than you can really anticipate.

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Answered on 7/30/11, 4:48 pm


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