Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California

If you have been served with a summons and complaint for judicial (court) foreclosure and want or need to cross-complain, you must, within the allotted time, prepare, serve and file at least (1) an answer or other responsive pleading, (2) a summons on cross-complaint; and (3) the cross-complaint itself.

As to #1, your answer could perhaps be on Judicial Council Form PLD-050 IF the complaint is unverified. (I do not see any requirement in the law that a complaint for judicial foreclosure be verified, but I'll bet most are). If the complaint is verified, you won't be able to use a form for your answer and you probably should not even if it is unverified. Form PLD-C-010 is also a possibility, and you might get by with it, but as it is designed specifically for contract cases I would not suggest its use. Generally, I recommend a custom-written answer on pleading paper and careful conformance with the content requirements.

As to #2, there is a form for the summons on a cross-complaint; Judicial Council Form SUM-110. Its use is mandatory. You fill it out, then take it to the court clerk at the time you file your answer and cross-complaint and the clerk will "issue" it by stamping the original and several copies and handing you back the original.

Finally, as to #3, there is a form for a complaint on a contract, Judicial Council Form PLD-C-001, and three associated forms for contract-related causes of action, (PLD-C-001(1), (2) and (3), which MIGHT be suitable for your cross-complaint, but be careful not to stretch them too far. If the essence of your cross-complaint is something other than breach of contract you will likely be better served by using a written-for-purpose cross-complaint on pleading paper.

The entire business of pleading a case to a court becomes increasingly complex as you move beyond plain vanilla accidents and breaches of contract. A cross-complaint to a judicial foreclosure is a specialized situation and while courts may tolerate minor deviations in style and format because a party is in pro. per. due to economic hardship, they might not accept or consider papers that fail to meet basic requirements of the law and rules of civil procedure.

I respectfully disagree with Mr. Whipple.

It depends on what your cross-complaint is for. If you are going to file a cross-complaint against the person suing you, you don't need a summons. The court already has jurisdiction over them by reason of them filing a lawsuit.

If you are filing a cross-complaint against the plaintiff (the person suing you) you must file it at the time or before your answer. If you filed your answer first, you will have to seek leave of court to file a cross-complaint.