What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? California
My friend is being sued for breach of contract in California by a collection agency for outstanding invoices from her divorce attorney. She had disputed her final bill of approximately $5k. After not hearing anything back from her divorce attorney for a while, she finally received a Summons and Complaint on December 31 (in Massachusetts, where she currently resides with her parents). She was not at home, so the Summons and Complaint were served to her sister. The date the Summons/Complaint were filed was October 16. The Notice to Plaintiffs that was enclosed with the Summons and Complaint says she should have been served within 60 days. A case management conference was scheduled in March. Obviously since she no longer lives in California she would prefer to settle this in advance without going to court.
My questions are - 1.) Does she have 40 days to respond since she was substitute served? And 2.) Does the fact that she was not served within 60 days help her case at all if she needs to go to court, and help her in any negotiations with her divorce lawyer?
As for why she disputed the bill in the first place, her lawyer made some major errors in calculations for the final settlement, and her lawyer also agreed to cap the fees as of a certain date, but billed her for time after that.
Thank you!
My friend is being sued for breach of contract in California by a collection agency for outstanding invoices from her divorce attorney. She had disputed her final bill of approximately $5k. After not hearing anything back from her divorce attorney for a while, she finally received a Summons and Complaint on December 31 (in Massachusetts, where she currently resides with her parents). She was not at home, so the Summons and Complaint were served to her sister. The date the Summons/Complaint were filed was October 16. The Notice to Plaintiffs that was enclosed with the Summons and Complaint says she should have been served within 60 days. A case management conference was scheduled in March. Obviously since she no longer lives in California she would prefer to settle this in advance without going to court.
My questions are - 1.) Does she have 40 days to respond since she was substitute served? And 2.) Does the fact that she was not served within 60 days help her case at all if she needs to go to court, and help her in any negotiations with her divorce lawyer?
As for why she disputed the bill in the first place, her lawyer made some major errors in calculations for the final settlement, and her lawyer also agreed to cap the fees as of a certain date, but billed her for time after that.
Thank you!