Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in California

Re: unlawful detainer - motion to strike?

Since the landlord probably was represented by attorney, it might be better and quicker to have plaintiff's attorney draw up the papers for you.

I am enclosing an excellent article on the subject.http://activerain.com/blogsview/236541/Removing-Judgments-From-Your

However, be aware that it will be listed as a paid judgment on your credit report, which should not hurt you.

Re: unlawful detainer - motion to strike?

Some courts, i.e. Rancho Cucamonga, will not accept a motion to strike an unlawful detainer complaint. You may bring a motion to dismiss, however, on the grounds that possession is no longer an issue. Note that it is possible that the case will be dismissed anyway if no one appears. The filing of the Unlawful Detainer Complaint will still appear on a credit report called the Unlawful Detiner Registry, even if the case is dismissed. There is United States Supreme Court law on this. You will need to make sure any report on the credit report is accurate, i.e. shows that an Unlawful Detainer was filed, but then dismissed. You have a right to notify the credit reporting agency to make this clarification. Note that some landlords are not going to care if the case was dismissed. So you may have to do some quick talking to explain why an unlawful detainer appeared but then mysteriously went away. On the issue of the motion to strike, if you really want to, you could take this issue to the appeals courts, where I believe you would probably win. But note that the cost for this would be extremely high. Probably equivalent to at least 1 year's rent.