Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Virginia
Motion to Quash
A homeowner just filed a lawsuit against my company for a deck that they said was defective. I was the general contractor of the project but the deck was done, through a subcontractor, with the customer entering into a separate contract with the subcontractor. In addition, the lawsuit was served on someone that wasn't the company's registered agent. Can I file a Motion to Quash for improper service and ask for dismissal of the suit because it's frivilous?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Motion to Quash
You certainly can object to the service since it was on the wrong person. you might also be able to object to the entire lawsuit as frivolous since you said the owner contracted separately with the deck company. Be prepared, however, not to win that part of the argument yet. In the beginning of a case the plaintiff gets a lot of slack to prove up their arguments. Also, since you have a company you will need to hire a lawyer. Companys (whether S Corp. C Corp. or LLC) must be represented by a lawyer in court. This last is a firm rule of the courts.
Re: Motion to Quash
The lawsuit must either be served on teh registered agent or on an officer or owner of the company. If not, you can file a motion to quash for defective service. However, that does not preclude the possibility of tem simply trying to serve your company again a better way.
Dismissing the case because it names the wrong part is more difficult. You will probably win easily if the plaintiff has sued the wrong party. However, as far as the court is concerned, the court does not know who is telling the truth. Therefore, you may have to develop teh facts before you can get the lawsuit dismissed.