Litigation Process Chart
- Plaintiff files Summons & Complaint
- Clerk of the Court issues Summons and returns conformed Complaint to Plaintiff
- A party to the action can be served with a Notice of Deposition and can also be required to bring and produce documents at the depsition to aid in the examination
- Plaintiff sucessfully serves Defendant(s). Defendant(s) now have 30 days to respond to the Complaint (10 additional days are given to Defendant(s) who are served by substitution)
- Defendant responds to Complaint by filing and serving on all parties one or more of the following:
- Answer to the Complaint and allege affirmative defenses
- Motion to Strike
a) any irrelevant false or improper matter in a pleading
b) all or any part of any pleading not drawn or filed in conformity with California law, California Rules of Court, Local Rules of Court or a Court Order
- Special Motion to Strike aka Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP)
a) tends to chill exercise of free speech
b) chills right to petition redress of greivances
- Demurrer:
Demurrer is a special name for an objection to a pleading. Essentiall, this is what California calls a motion to dismiss. It can be brought on a variety of grounds, such as failure to state a cause of action, failure to plead fraud with specificity, failure to allege whether a contract is oral, written or implied by conduct,, outside the staute of limitations, etc.
- Defendant files a Motion to Quash Service:
a) sdefective service
b) Defendant(s) live in another state.
- Defendant fails to respond to the Complaint within the time prescribed
- Plaintiff is not sucessful in serving Defendant(s) with 60 days following the date the Summons was issued
