Question about requirements for serving notice in California Small Claims Court

[smallclaimsca77]

I recently got a notice from the court informing me of a default judgment against me. To the best of my knowledge, I was never informed of any court date before this notification.

The closest thing I can think of was that I did have a notice in the mail about a certified letter that was returned to the sender while I was away from home. Could that have been it? If so, was the attempt to send a registered letter all that was required?

I'm not really sure what to do from here. I believe I have the documentation to show that I don't owe this person any money, but I don't have the money to pay to file an appeal right now. Is there any possibility of challenging the validity of the original judgment based on the failure to notify me of the court date, or failing that, do I have any other options?

Thanks in advance.What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[CourtClerk]

You need to go to the courthouse and pull a copy of the file. No, just an attempt to send you a certified letter is not good enough to consider you served, the certified letter MUST come from the court, and you MUST have signed for it, therefore, somewhere in the file should be a proof of service saying that you were served. Go look at it.

Take $20 with you. File a motion to vacate. Go back to court, prove you weren't served and retry the case if the bench officer believes you were never served.