Served With a Lawsuit in California? The 30-Day Clock and What to Do
Someone handed you a stack of papers with a Summons on top. The first page says you have 30 days. That number is real, the consequence of missing it is worse than most people assume, and the instinct to wait and see what happens is the single most expensive mistake available here.
What you were actually handed
A California lawsuit starts with two documents: the Summons, which is the court's formal notice that you have been sued and must respond, and the Complaint, which sets out who is suing you, what they say you did, and what they want. There may also be a civil case cover sheet and a notice of case assignment. Read the complaint carefully — the causes of action listed in it define the entire case.
The 30 days, and when it is not 30 days
If the papers were personally handed to you, your response is generally due 30 days after that date. The clock runs on calendar days, and it runs whether or not you think the lawsuit has any merit.
Service can also happen other ways, and those change the math. With substituted service — papers left with a competent adult at your home or workplace and then also mailed to you — service is not complete when the papers are dropped off. It is complete on the tenth day after the mailing, and only then does the 30-day period begin. Service by publication, service on a business through an agent for service of process, and service on someone outside California each carry their own rules. If you are unsure exactly when you were served, that is itself worth pinning down immediately, because everything counts from it.
Your response options
“Responding” does not necessarily mean filing an answer. The main choices:
- Answer. The standard response. It admits or denies each allegation and raises your affirmative defenses — the things that defeat the claim even if the facts alleged were true. Affirmative defenses generally have to be pleaded or they can be lost.
- Demurrer. A challenge arguing that even accepting everything in the complaint as true, it does not state a valid legal claim. Before filing one, California requires the parties to meet and confer about the defects, and that requirement comes with an automatic 30-day extension of the response deadline if the declaration is filed on time.
- Motion to strike. Used to remove improper or irrelevant matter — frequently a punitive damages request that is not supported by the allegations.
- Motion to quash service. Used when the court lacks jurisdiction over you or you were never properly served. Important: this must generally be raised first, because responding on the merits can waive the objection.
You can often get more time — if you ask before the deadline
Opposing counsel will frequently agree to an extension, and California’s rules contemplate the parties stipulating to a modest extension of the response date. Two conditions matter: get it in writing, and ask before the deadline passes. Once a default is taken, the other side has no reason to cooperate and generally will not.
What a default judgment actually means
If you file nothing, the plaintiff can ask the clerk to enter your default. You are then out of the case — you do not get to contest liability, you do not get to argue the amount, and you do not get notice of most of what follows. The plaintiff then obtains a default judgment, which is an enforceable judgment: wage garnishment, bank levies, and a lien against real property, plus interest accruing on the balance until it is paid.
Setting a default aside is possible in some circumstances — California law provides relief where the default resulted from mistake, inadvertence, surprise, or excusable neglect, and there are strict time limits on seeking it. But relief is discretionary, it is not guaranteed, and it costs considerably more than simply responding on time would have.
Do these things this week
- Write down the exact date and manner of service. Everything is calculated from it.
- Notify any insurer that might cover the claim. Auto, homeowner’s, renter’s, umbrella, and business policies often include a duty to defend, and the carrier may owe you a lawyer — but late notice can jeopardize coverage. This is the most commonly missed step, and the most valuable one.
- Preserve documents. Stop any routine deletion of emails, texts, and records connected to the dispute. Destroying evidence after a suit is filed creates a problem far worse than the underlying claim.
- Do not contact the plaintiff to talk it out. Anything you say can end up in the case, and informal conversations do not stop the clock.
- Check whether you have a cross-complaint. If you have claims against the plaintiff arising from the same transaction, there are timing rules for asserting them, and some claims must be brought in this case or lost.
Even if the lawsuit is meritless
A default judgment does not care whether the underlying claim was any good. Courts enter default judgments on weak claims routinely, simply because nobody responded. If you believe the suit is baseless, that is an argument to make inside the case — and there are procedural tools built for exactly that. Ignoring it converts a weak claim into a collectible judgment.
Holding a summons with a deadline on it? Ask a legal question.