Legal Question in Personal Injury in California
I'm a Plaintiff and have a lawsuit going and filed a First Amended Complaint. Can I just mail this to defendant's counsel or do I have to actually serve it on the defendant? I was told that maybe I can just send it to defense counsel if they say they'll accept service. Can I do that without them having to sign a Notice and Acknowledgment of Receipt. I've researched this issue but it is a bit confusing. Thank you very much.
4 Answers from Attorneys
Has defendant or his/her counsel responded to the original Complaint? If so you may mail it to them at the address listed on the responsive pleadings.
In addition, if you've already served the defendant and counsel has not yet appeared in the case and notified you of his/her representation, you may mail it to the defendant.
If the defendant has responded to the lawsuit you can serve the amended complaint by having someone over 18 and not a party mail the opposing attorney a copy.
There's only one problem with all the answers saying you can mail it if the defendant has appeared in the case: If the defendant has responded to the complaint, you need a court order to file the amended complaint. If the defendant has not appeared, it is pretty safe to rely on an attorney's representation that he or she is authorized to accept service, but you would want that representation to be in writing, and you would still have to personally serve the attorney or mail it with a notice and acknowledgement of receipt.
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