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Civil Court
Before You Sue - Information for the Plaintiff
[Esta página está en español;
Trang này bằng tiếng Việt]
 This section tells you about:
- Things to think about before you sue
- What are a Summons and Complaint?
- Where do I file my lawsuit?
- How do I serve the defendant?
- What happens if the defendant doesn’t answer?
- Things to think about before you sue:
If you were wronged, you have the right to sue. But, there are things
you have to know before you sue, like:
- Who to sue,
- Where they are,
- What you need to do before you sue them,
- Where you should sue them, and
- If you should sue them.
These are hard questions to answer, even in an easy
case like a slip-and-fall in a store. For example, if you slip on the
floor in a supermarket, you have to figure out if the store is part of a
chain or just one store, if falling was partly or totally your fault, etc.
In a complicated
case, like if the same slip and fall happened on land that the county
owns, but that a government agency rents, you have to figure out who was
responsible for slippery ground, and follow the laws for suing the
government.
If you sue a government agency, you have to follow the laws for
notice. This is a fancy way of saying that before you sue a government
agency you have to fill out papers that say that you’re suing them.
There’s a time limit to give notice.
After you
file your notice, you don’t have much time to file your lawsuit. Claim
limits like this protect hospitals and other businesses.
If you do not follow these rules, get ready to fight. If you don’t do
things on time, you may lose your right to sue. You could ruin your
lawsuit.
Even more important are time limits called "statute of limitations." These
statutes, or laws, say when you can file your action. If you don’t file on
time, you lose automatically.
For example, if you are in a car crash, you have 2 years to file a
lawsuit. This might not be true for your case. You have to check the time
limit yourself. But in general this is the case.
If you wait one day after the time limit, the court won’t let you sue,
except in very special circumstances.
This means that even if you have a good case, you lose because you didn’t
file on time. The person you sue can challenge you at any time. They can
appeal and win. That’s because the statute of limitations says if the
court can hear and decide the case at all. If you wait too long, you take
away the Court’s
jurisdiction to hear your case. top of page
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- What are a Summons and
Complaint:
A general civil lawsuit starts when the
plaintiff files 2 forms. A Summons
is a notice that says there’s a lawsuit. A Complaint
is a form that says how the person was hurt, who hurt them and how much
the
damages are.
- Where do I file my lawsuit?
 There
are a lot of things to think when you decide where to file your complaint.
For example:
- Jurisdiction:
Jurisdiction can mean more than one thing. The Court has to have
“jurisdiction” over the
defendant. This means that the court has the right to hear and
decide a case for the person you are suing.
In general, you have to file your lawsuit where the injury happened, or
where the contract was supposed to happen, or where the defendant lives.
There can be other requirements. Check the
California Code of Civil Procedure.
Then, the Court also has to have jurisdiction over how much money you
want. You have to file your lawsuit in the right court:
- Venue:
Jurisdiction says in what State and what Court you file your lawsuit. Venue
is the County where you file your action. Usually, this is the County
where the defendant lives or where the injury happened. But, sometimes
you can change the Venue. See Law and Motion.
- Court locations/hours/maps:
See the list of courthouses on the court's Website. Click on each court
to see the hours and maps.
- Fax filing:
To file your documents by fax, dial the Official Payments fax line:
1-800-487-4567
- Unlimited Jurisdiction cases:
If you have a case worth more than $25,000, you have an unlimited
jurisdiction case. For these cases, you have to give the Clerk:
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The Clerk will endorse the Complaint, the Cover
Sheet and the Summons, and give them back to you with something called a
“Civil Lawsuit Notice”. This tells the date and time of your first Court
hearing, and which Department
and Judge your case is assigned to.
You’ll also get an ADR
Information Sheet and a receipt for your filing fee. If you file your
case on something called pleading paper instead of on a complaint form,
your papers must follow
 the
Rule of Court 2.100-2.119.
- Limited Jurisdiction cases:
If your case is worth more than $10,000 but less than $25,000, you have
a limited jurisdiction case. You have to file the same forms as
Unlimited jurisdiction cases. And, your papers have to be numbered at
the bottom of every page. The front page has to say, "demand exceeds
$10,000.00" or "demand does not exceed $10,000.00". The front page also
has to say "Limited Civil Case."
- Civil Case Cover Sheet:
You have to file a Civil Case Cover Sheet for every case. This is a
form you put in front of all your papers. The number of this form is
CM-010.
Click to download it
here, or make a copy at the
Law Library. It’s in
the Judicial Council Forms binder.
- Fees & fee waivers:
The court has to charge you to file papers. This helps them pay for
running the court. How much you pay depends on the paper you file. Click
here for a
list of filing fees for civil court. If you qualify, you can ask the
court for a fee waiver.
This means you won’t have to pay to file. Look at the
California Rules of Court 3.50-3.63
to see if you qualify.
To find out how to get a fee waiver, see California Civil Practice,
Procedure, West Group. You can get this in the
Law Library.
- How do I serve the defendant:
- What is Service of Process?
- How do I serve the defendant?
- Who can serve the defendant?
- Proofs of Service
-
What is Service Of Process:
After you file your lawsuit, you have to let the defendant know that you
are suing them. Usually, the defendant knows about the case a long time
before it starts. Hopefully you talked to the defendant and tried to
settle the case before you filed.
But, now that you filed the lawsuit, you have to let the defendant
know formally that you are suing. This is called "service".
You have to have all papers "served" on every party in the whole
lawsuit.
To start your case, you have to have the defendant served with a Summons, Complaint and Civil
Lawsuit Notice. You can serve these 3 papers
together.
- How do I serve the defendant?
There are 3 ways to "serve" the defendant with papers to start your
case:
- Personal service:
Personal service means that someone gives the Summons and Complaint
to the defendant.
- Service by mail:
This means that someone mails the Summons and Complaint to the
defendant. And,
- Service by publication:
This means that you publish the Summons and Complaint in the newspaper
that the defendant’s most likely to read. You have to ask the court’s
permission to do this. Usually you have to try personal service a few
times first.
Remember: You can’t serve the defendant!
If you need to serve papers to someone in jail or prison in California,
read this flyer:
How to Serve Someone in Custody.
- Who can serve the defendant?
If YOU are the plaintiff, YOU cannot serve the defendant.
The server can be a:
- Friend,
- Co-worker,
- Relative, or
- Anyone over 18 who isn’t part of the case, except
you.
You cannot serve the defendant!
The court likes you to use Personal Service. It’s more reliable and the
court can ask the server questions if there’s a problem.
The process
server can testify to say what day and time they served the
defendant. Sometimes you can serve someone else instead of the
defendant. There are special rules to do this. (Look at the
California Code of Civil Procedure.)
Service by Mail is much easier. But, it’s much less certain. It depends
on the mail service you use, and you don’t know who delivers it. So, the
Court can’t ask anyone questions if something goes wrong.
The court doesn’t like Service by Publication as much as the other kinds
of service. But, it’s still a legal way to serve someone. You have to
follow special rules for service by publication. Usually, you have to
try personal service a certain number of times, and then ask the Court
for an order to let you to serve by publication.
To find out what rules to follow, look at:
- Proofs of service:
After you serve the papers, you have to file a Proof of Service.
This shows the court that you served the forms. You can get a Proof of
Service at bookstores, printing companies or at the
Law Library.
- When happens if the defendant doesn't answer
- When can I get a
default judgment?
- How do I ask for a
default?
- Clerk’s judgment
- Court judgment by
affidavit and
hearing
- When can I get a
default judgment?
In general, the defendant has 30 days to answer. If the defendant
doesn’t
answer
in time, the court can enter a default judgment.
A default judgment can only be obtained in an Unlawful Detainer case for
possession.
You have to follow some steps and fill out forms to do this. See
CCP 585
to learn the rules for default.
You can get a default in a lot of cases, like a case that asks for money
damages.
But, you can’t get a default judgment in these cases:
- Actions to decide the owner of
real property,
- Small claims actions,
- Unlawful detainers,
-
Dissolution of marriage, or
- Dissolution of a corporation.
There are other times when you can’t get a
default. For example, you can’t get a default against a defendant who is
bankrupt, an
indigent defendant in jail who doesn’t have a lawyer, or someone in
the military.
The defendant can answer service in a way that will stop you from
getting a default. The defendant can file:
- An answer, or
- A general denial, or
- A
demurrer, or
- Different kinds of
motions, like a motion to transfer or motion to quash, etc.
To learn more, see Information for the
Defendant: I’ve Been Sued, What Do I Do Now?
- How do I ask for a
default?
If you serve a defendant and they don’t answer at all in 30 days,
you can ask for a default judgment.
To ask for a default you have to file these forms:
- Clerk's judgment:
After the clerk gets your request for default with your forms attached,
the clerk will enter a default if the defendant hasn’t filed an answer.
The next step is to get a date for the default hearing with a judge.
- Court judgment -- by
affidavit & hearing:
You can fill out your Request for Default Judgment on the same form
as the Request for Entry of Default,
Form CIV-100.
The Judge who hears your default will look over your forms, and if
everything has been done, will enter
judgment. The judgment can be for as much as you’re asking for, but
never more than that. That's why it’s important to make a list of all
the damages you’re asking for in the complaint or the statement of
damages.
The court won’t give you damages if you don’t ask for them on your
forms.
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