If a summons/complaint was served to my previous landlord, and she told them i did not live there, do I still only have 30 days from the date of service to respond?
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If a summons/complaint was served to my previous landlord, and she told them i did not live there, do I still only have 30 days from the date of service to respond?
Someone went to my previous place of
residence and gave the summons/complaint
to my previous landlord. She notified
them that I did not live there, and she
wasnt sure when she would see me. It
will be 30 days on the 10th but i wasnt
aware of any of this until just a couple
days ago. Do i still only have until the
10th to send in a response? I am not
even positive if I have the correct date
the response is due. The bottom portion
of the summons where it says ‘notice to
the person served’ is not filled out.
Asked on April 8, 2019 under Accident Law, California
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 5 years ago | Contributor
Actually, if it was never served on you, the court has no jurisdiction (power) over you. In theory, you could ignore the case, but that is not recommended: if you, the other side will probably try to get a default judgment aganst you, which you would then have to have set aside and the case dismissed for non-service. You'll be able to do that, but they will then presumably re-serve you again, at the proper address this time, forcng you to deal with this later. It is better to make a motion to the court for additional time to answers, based on the delay in you receiving the summons & complaint.
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