Legal Question in Personal Injury in California

Re: Do I have to be served personnally?

You should be proactive. You should find out where the lawsuit was filed and see what the claims are. You may have insurance to cover the claims.

You must be served with the summons and complaint. Since you are out of state, only service by certified mail is required. Further, if the plaintiff doesn't know where you live, you could have been served by publication (or worse, already mistakenly served by substituted service.) If you wait, a judgment could be entered against you.

If you would like our help in locating the case and evaluating the claims, let us know. We practice in Southern California.

Re: Do I have to be served personnally?

California law only requires personal service on defendants who reside in California. Out-of-state defendants can be served by certified mail.

If the plaintiff doesn't know where you are and is unable to find out after a reasonably diligent search, the court may allow him to serve you by publishing a notice in a newspaper near your last known address. If the defendant is your corporation rather than you personally, the plaintiff can serve its designated agent instead. If the business has no designated agent the plaintiff may be able to serve the Secretary of State.

It's also possible that the plaintiff will mistakenly believe he has served you, or even that he'll knowingly lie about it to the court. Either way the court will believe you've been served and will hold you in default. The default will be void but it will likely cause you a lot of headaches.

You may want to retain California counsel to help you deal with these potential problems and to defend you if need be. Feel free to contact me if you're interested in doing so.

Re: Do I have to be served personnally?

Yes, with the caveat that there are multiple ways to do that. You can be personaly served in Texas by a process server. You can be served by mailing you a copy of the Summons, Complaint and related documentation by certified mail, return receipt requested--with your signature on the receipt card deemed acceptance. You can be served by 1st class mail if you consent by signing and returning Acknowledgement of Receipt forms if enclosed.