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I think I'm trying to get served by certified mail

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tagv12

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? California

I got a call from my housekeeper who says that I received a notice from the post office that I have a certified letter waiting to be picked up at the post office from the Superior Court. I'm not currently living at that house where the notice was delivered, I am living at my house for the summer which is 500 miles away. I can only think it's an old tenant of mine who threatened to take me to small claims court because they think I deducted too much from their security deposit. What happens if I don't pick up the mail from the post office? I have no reason to avoid any lawsuit, I just want to know what happens because I don't live in the area and cannot pick it up, but I also don't want to jeopardize anything.

Jan
 


fairisfair

Senior Member
they can try to serve you personally (in person)

and if that fails they can petition the court for an order to serve you by publication.

You may as well just go pick up the letter.

I mean, you DID calculate the return of their deposit correctly, right???

so what do you have to be afraid of???
 

tagv12

Junior Member
I'm not afraid, I just live 500 miles away from the post office and I was wondering what would happen if I didn't pick it up.
 

JETX

Senior Member
I was wondering what would happen if I didn't pick it up.
Of course, no one can GUESS what might happen... but if you don't accept the service by mail, the plaintiff can simply serve you by publication (which you probably will not see) and then get a judgment against you.
 

dcatz

Senior Member
Your housekeeper can’t really sign, but there are a couple of risks.

Service by mail under Calif. Code of Civil Procedure sect. 116.340 is generally considered effective only if the named defendant signs the delivery receipt. The court should determine if the receipt appears to have been signed by the proper person and, if not, should continue the case to permit proper service. But what happens if your signature is a scrawl and so is the housekeeper’s and the court mistakes one for the other? Answer: the hearing goes on, you lose by default and then have to file a motion to vacate.

Service by publication is problematic. All other means more reasonably expected to effect service and give notice must have first been tried unsuccessfully (that includes substituted service). Then it requires a motion, a court order time for publication and considerable expense ($300-400 exclusive of the motion costs). That’s so extreme, I’ve never seen it in Small Claims.

Besides, you have a housekeeper who probably satisfies all of the requirements for substituted service, and personal/substituted service is the next best bet, if the mail is ignored.

If it was me, I’d ignore the mail. I’d expect substituted service to be made on the housekeeper and would leave explicit instructions that I was to be immediately notified when that happened. When it did, I would check the hearing date. If I was still going to be on vacation, I’d request a continuance under CCP sect. 116.750(a). It will cost you $10, but traveling 500 miles to get the letter will cost more and there is a liberal policy is granting such requests for good cause (in your case, you are and will be 500 miles away on the date set – I’d omit mention of vacation).

Do it according to the rules (not less than 10 days before the hearing, notice to the other parties etc. - check with a call to the court, if you need to), and you should get your hearing and your vacation as well
 

tagv12

Junior Member
Your housekeeper can’t really sign, but there are a couple of risks.

Service by mail under Calif. Code of Civil Procedure sect. 116.340 is generally considered effective only if the named defendant signs the delivery receipt. The court should determine if the receipt appears to have been signed by the proper person and, if not, should continue the case to permit proper service. But what happens if your signature is a scrawl and so is the housekeeper’s and the court mistakes one for the other? Answer: the hearing goes on, you lose by default and then have to file a motion to vacate.

Service by publication is problematic. All other means more reasonably expected to effect service and give notice must have first been tried unsuccessfully (that includes substituted service). Then it requires a motion, a court order time for publication and considerable expense ($300-400 exclusive of the motion costs). That’s so extreme, I’ve never seen it in Small Claims.

Besides, you have a housekeeper who probably satisfies all of the requirements for substituted service, and personal/substituted service is the next best bet, if the mail is ignored.

If it was me, I’d ignore the mail. I’d expect substituted service to be made on the housekeeper and would leave explicit instructions that I was to be immediately notified when that happened. When it did, I would check the hearing date. If I was still going to be on vacation, I’d request a continuance under CCP sect. 116.750(a). It will cost you $10, but traveling 500 miles to get the letter will cost more and there is a liberal policy is granting such requests for good cause (in your case, you are and will be 500 miles away on the date set – I’d omit mention of vacation).

Do it according to the rules (not less than 10 days before the hearing, notice to the other parties etc. - check with a call to the court, if you need to), and you should get your hearing and your vacation as well

I have to agree with you. I'm not going out of my way to collect this mail and I want to make it difficult for this guy as I know that I would win in court because I did everything by the book. I have documentation and photographic evidence to back up my defense. I looked online and there is a default date set of July 12th. I'm thinking that if I don't pick the mail up he may give up because the chances of showing up to the court date are very slim because he left the country when he moved out of my house (lived here for a short time while working and is not a US Citizen or permanent resident). He is doing this all via the internet and it's going to cost him more than he's suing me for to pursue this. I'm going to keep checking the site to see if there is an update and show up to the court date if nothing changes.
 
Last edited:

fairisfair

Senior Member
oh, goody!!! some advice that you liked.

I am sure that DCatz is going to be splitting whatever judgement is entered against you at the default hearing with you. So...no problemo.:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
 

dcatz

Senior Member
fairisfair:

While amusing (particularly with the penchant for adding “smilies”), your certainty is misplaced. However, neither your post nor the OP’s continue to make much sense, so perhaps it’s best if you try to work that out.

(a) I did not suggest permitting a default and the OP expressly states an intention to appear on the hearing date, which will not only prevent a default but will bring the OP under the court’s jurisdiction, whether service was made or not.

(b) There is no way that the OP could determine a Small Claims “default date set of July 12th” online, even if service had been made (and the very statement assumes perfected service, in which case the thread is moot). It is remotely possible the OP could have determined a hearing date (when perfected service and a non-appearance would result in default) but improbable without knowing the case number. That implies either a misstatement or omission in the thread.

(c) As stated in my post, service by publication requires that every other means more likely to give notice must first be exhausted. It also requires a hearing on noticed motion. Probable time to attempt service by mail, personal service, substituted service, file a motion, get an order, arrange for and publish for the time required and in such manner as to effect service with statutory advance notice before the hearing date? About 90 days, if you move very, very fast, but well past July 12th under any circumstances. Then, for the reason stated by JETX, in the unlikely event that there was publication and a default, the judgment is also the most likely to be vacated.

I’ll leave this one to the gurus.
 

fairisfair

Senior Member
fairisfair:

While amusing (particularly with the penchant for adding “smilies”), your certainty is misplaced. However, neither your post nor the OP’s continue to make much sense, so perhaps it’s best if you try to work that out.

(a) I did not suggest permitting a default and the OP expressly states an intention to appear on the hearing date, which will not only prevent a default but will bring the OP under the court’s jurisdiction, whether service was made or not.

(b) There is no way that the OP could determine a Small Claims “default date set of July 12th” online, even if service had been made (and the very statement assumes perfected service, in which case the thread is moot). It is remotely possible the OP could have determined a hearing date (when perfected service and a non-appearance would result in default) but improbable without knowing the case number. That implies either a misstatement or omission in the thread.

(c) As stated in my post, service by publication requires that every other means more likely to give notice must first be exhausted. It also requires a hearing on noticed motion. Probable time to attempt service by mail, personal service, substituted service, file a motion, get an order, arrange for and publish for the time required and in such manner as to effect service with statutory advance notice before the hearing date? About 90 days, if you move very, very fast, but well past July 12th under any circumstances. Then, for the reason stated by JETX, in the unlikely event that there was publication and a default, the judgment is also the most likely to be vacated.

I’ll leave this one to the gurus.
You sugguested that he ignore the service.

We don't generally tend to advise people to thwart the law here, or to evade, avoid or thumb their noses at the legal system.

But perhaps things are changing.

oh....and those aren't smilies....those are rollies....BIG difference.
 

seniorjudge

Senior Member
Of course, no one can GUESS what might happen... but if you don't accept the service by mail, the plaintiff can simply serve you by publication (which you probably will not see) and then get a judgment against you.
Poster, listen to JETX.

He is correct.
 

CourtClerk

Senior Member
Poster, listen to JETX.

He is correct.
Actually, JetX is not correct, however, DCatz is.

Service by publication is not done in Small Claims in CA.

Service by certified mail is only considered effected if the OP signs for the letter. If it is never picked up from the post office, the summons is not considered served.
 

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