In California civil cases, there are several important deadlines that both parties must meet. (2) The names of the parties to the action. This, of course, assumes the propounding party could even get a hearing date with such short notice. The 5 day period includes weekends but does not include court holidays. Rules of Court, rule 3.110, subd. The parties each have a duty to meet and confer no later than 30 days before the date set for the initial case management conference. (a) [“A party seeking an ex parte order must notify all parties no later than 10:00 a.m. the court day before the ex parte appearance, absent a showing of exceptional circumstances that justify a shorter time for notice.”].↥, Cal. A motion for judgment on the pleadings must be filed no later than 16 court days before the hearing.⁠80 This time may be extended, depending on the method of service.⁠81, An opposition to the motion should be filed 9 court days before the hearing, and a reply to the opposition should be filed at least 5 court days before the hearing.⁠82. This template was prepared by the Justice & Diversity Center, a nonprofit organization, and is not an official court form. (d) If the complaint is subject to Article 2 (commencing with Section 90) of Chapter 5.1 of Title 1 of Part 1 or is not verified, a general denial is sufficient but only puts in issue the material allegations of the complaint. Proc., § 2024.050, subd. (a) [“Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, any party shall be entitled as a matter of right to complete discovery proceedings on or before the 30th day, and to have motions concerning discovery heard on or before the 15th day, before the date initially set for the trial of the action.”].↥, Code Civ. The most common of those deadlines are listed in the table below. Like the plaintiff, defendants who have been served with a complaint have several important early deadlines. There have been no previous extensions of time for Defendants to respond to the Complaint. In general, defendants have a right to begin propounding their discovery requests anytime after the action begins.⁠56 But, with depositions, the defendant must first have been served or have appeared in the case before they can begin propounding deposition notices.⁠57, Plaintiffs can begin serving their written discovery requests (like interrogatories, requests for admission, and inspection demands) 10 days after they have served the defendant with the summons and complaint (or after the defendant has appeared, whichever occurs first).⁠58, In some situations, plaintiffs can request that the court permit them to serve their written discovery requests sooner than 10 days after the defendant has been served.⁠59 And, in unlawful detainer cases, the plaintiff can begin serving written discovery requests as early as 5 days after the party has been served.⁠60, Plaintiffs can begin serving deposition notices 20 days after they have served the defendant with the summons and complaint (or after the defendant has appeared, whichever occurs first).⁠61 Again, courts can grant a plaintiff’s motion to allow deposition notices to be served at an earlier time.⁠62. (a) [“A defendant may make requests for admission by a party without leave of court at any time.”].↥, Code Civ. Proc., § 411.10 [“A civil action is commenced by filing a complaint with the court.”].↥, Kurata v. Los Angeles News Publishing Co. (1935) 4 Cal.App.2d 224, 227 [“We hold that a lawsuit from beginning to end is in the nature of a judicial proceeding, the filing of a complaint being the first step therein, and that the subsequent pleadings are successive steps therein.”].↥, Code Civ. This motion shall be accompanied by a meet and confer declaration under Section 2016.040.”].↥, Code Civ. In any California lawsuit, there are numerous deadlines both parties must meet. (c) [“Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), if, as defined in Section 1985.3 or 1985.6, the party giving notice of the deposition is a subpoenaing party, and the deponent is a witness commanded by a deposition subpoena to produce personal records of a consumer or employment records of an employee, the deposition shall be scheduled for a date at least 20 days after issuance of that subpoena.”].↥, Code Civ. Proc., § 338, subd. Additional time could also be needed if the responding party serves their final discovery responses by mail, in which case the last practical day to serve discovery would be about 82 days before the date set for trial. (a) [“An oral deposition shall be scheduled for a date at least 10 days after service of the deposition notice.”].↥, Code Civ. (b) [“The plaintiff may serve a deposition notice without leave of court on any date that is 20 days after the service of the summons on, or appearance by, any defendant.”].↥, Code Civ. When a default is entered, the party who requested the entry of default must obtain a default judgment against the defaulting party within 45 days after the default was entered, unless the court has granted an extension of time. Serve Defendant after Complaint Filed – 60 days after filing. Then you count 5 court days, which is the time the tenant generally has to respond to the Complaint. In calculating the number of days a party has to take an action, there are two important considerations: (1) how the applicable statute or court rule defines a “day,” and (2) whether the method of service affects the deadlines. A notice sent by mail from within California to a party whose service address is also in California, for example, would need to be sent at least 16 court days plus five calendar days before the hearing.⁠91, Any opposition to the motion must be served and filed at least 9 court days before the hearing.⁠92 Unlike the moving papers, this deadline is not affected by the manner of service, but they must be served by personal delivery, fax, express mail, or other means that are reasonably calculated to ensure delivery to the other parties not later than the close of the next business day.⁠93, If the moving party wishes to file a reply to the opposition, it must be served and filed at least 5 court days before the hearing.⁠94 Again, this deadline is not affected by the manner of service, but they must be served by personal delivery, fax, express mail, or other means that are reasonably calculated to ensure delivery to the other parties not later than the close of the next business day.⁠95, An ex parte application is a request by one party that involves a matter that requires urgent attention by the court. Proc., § 340, subd. In unlawful detainer cases, oral depositions must be scheduled at least 5 days after the date the deposition notice is served on the witness to be deposed. Rules of Court, rule 3.1203, subd. . Absent exceptional circumstances, no hearing may be conducted unless such service has been made.”].↥, Cal. (c) [“Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, all papers opposing a motion and all reply papers shall be served by personal delivery, facsimile transmission, express mail, or other means consistent with Sections 1010, 1011, 1012, and 1013, and reasonably calculated to ensure delivery to the other party or parties not later than the close of the next business day after the time the opposing papers or reply papers, as applicable, are filed. Proc., § 12a, subd. The times listed above are informational only, and should not be relied on as legal advice. The parties may stipulate without leave of court to one 15-day extension beyond the 30-day time period prescribed for the response after service of the initial complaint. (a).↥, Cal. If another party on the same side of the litigation has already paid this fee, then parties do not need to make this payment again.⁠85 In unlawful detainer cases, the fee must be paid at least 5 days before trial.⁠86, If, for some reason, no case management conference is scheduled, the $150 jury fee must be paid no later than 365 days after the filing of the initial complaint.⁠87, In the rare case that the party requesting a jury has not appeared before the initial case management conference, or first appeared more than 365 days after the filing of the initial complaint, the $150 jury fee must be paid at least 25 days before the date initially set for trial.⁠88. (c) [interrogatories], 2031.260, subd. Notice: This domain, its subdomains, and its pages (collectively, this "website"), are the property and creation of , who does business as Work Lawyers. (b) [production and inspection demands], 2033.250, subd. Any opposition to the motion for summary judgment must be served and filed at least 14 days before the hearing date.⁠108 Unlike the moving papers, this deadline is not affected by the manner of service, but the opposition must be served by personal delivery, fax, express mail, or other means that are reasonably calculated to ensure delivery to the other parties not later than the close of the next business day.⁠109, Any reply to the opposition must be served and filed at least 5 days before the hearing date.⁠110 Again, this deadline is not affected by the manner of service, but the opposition must be served by personal delivery, fax, express mail, or other means that are reasonably calculated to ensure delivery to the other parties not later than the close of the next business day.⁠111, Like subpoenas, expert discovery, limited civil case deadlines, arbitration deadlines, specific types of motions, rules applicable to specific types of cases, local rules, special procedures, and other issues.↥, Code Civ. Proc., §§ 2030.020, subd. (a) [“Where any law requires an act to be performed no later than a specified number of days before a hearing date, the last day to perform that act shall be determined by counting backward from the hearing date, excluding the day of the hearing as provided by Section 12.”].↥, Code Civ. It is important that you respond as soon as possible if a debt collector contacts you about a debt that you do not owe, that is for the wrong amount, that is for a debt you already paid, or that you want more information about. The purpose of the hearing is for the parties and the judge to discuss the issues and scheduling matters of the case. (a) A party shall file a cross-complaint against any of the parties who filed the complaint or cross-complaint against him or her before or at the same time as the answer to the complaint or cross-complaint. (c), (e).↥, Cal. (b) Service of complaint (b)(6), 1005, subd. Proc., §§ 2030.300 [interrogatories], 2031.310 [inspection or production demands], 2033.290 [requests for admissions].↥, Code Civ. (i) [“Responsive papers to an order to show cause issued under this rule must be filed and served at least 5 calendar days before the hearing.”].↥, Code Civ. (b) [“All papers opposing a motion so noticed shall be filed with the court and a copy served on each party at least nine court days, and all reply papers at least five court days before the hearing.”].↥, Code Civ. Proc., §§ 2030.020, subd. Proc., § 2030.260, subd. FOR THE CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA WESTERN DIVISION MARK BOAL, et al. This difference can significantly affect the applicable deadline. PURPOSE This general policy establishes guidelines governing the manner in which the Department of Justice will respond to complaints by members of the public against a law enforcement agency or its employees. Proc., §§ 1005, subds. State with specificity the nature of the relief to be requested and the date, time, and place for the presentation of the application; and, Attempt to determine whether the opposing party will appear to oppose the application.⁠, An application containing the case caption, the relief requested, a disclosure of previously-refused applications, and the name, address, e-mail, and phone number of any attorney or unrepresented party;⁠, A declaration in support of the application, based on personal knowledge, that, A declaration based on personal knowledge of the notice given;⁠. Answer each issue of the complaint Assert affirmative defenses File the answer with the court and serve the plaintiff with answer Let's take a look at each one. This rule applies to the service of pleadings in civil cases except for collections cases under rule 3.740(a), unlawful detainer actions, proceedings under the Family Code, and other proceedings for which different service requirements are prescribed by law. Code, § 12960; Romano v. Rockwell Internat., Inc. (1996) 14 Cal.4th 479, 492 [“As for the applicable limitation period, the FEHA provides that no complaint for any violation of its provisions may be filed with the Department ‘after the expiration of one year from the date upon which the alleged unlawful practice or refusal to cooperate occurred . 8-3) Complaint Served: July 20, 2016 Current Response Date: Sept. 23, 2016 . (c) [“An applicant must make an affirmative factual showing in a declaration containing competent testimony based on personal knowledge of irreparable harm, immediate danger, or any other statutory basis for granting relief ex parte.”].↥, See Cal. Time to Respond to Cross-Complaint CODE OF CIVIL PROCEDURE SECTION 432.10 432.10. Demurrers are another common type of early filing by defendants. Rule 3.110 - Time for service of complaint, cross-complaint, and response (a) Application. Likewise, a party or witness can file a motion or ex parte application to stay the taking of a deposition until a motion for a protective order is heard.⁠66, If a party wishes to object to a deposition notice, they must serve a written objection specifying the error or irregularity at least 3 calendar days prior to the date for which the deposition is scheduled.⁠67, If an objection is made 3 calendar days before the deposition date, the objecting party must personally serve their written objection on the party who gave notice of the deposition.⁠68, If a party has been served with written discovery requests⁠—⁠like interrogatories, requests for production, or requests for admissions⁠—⁠their responses are due within 30 days of the date of service.⁠69 Their responses must be served on all other parties who have appeared in the action, unless the court relieves them of this duty.⁠70, In unlawful detainer cases, this deadline is only 5 days from the date of service.⁠71. Plaintiffs, v. 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