By: Roger J. Buffington, Esq.
When a person is served with a complaint (i.e. a lawsuit) in California, this is a serious matter. Regardless of how inappropriate the defendant may believe that the merits of the lawsuit may be, it is vital that the new defendant retain counsel and respond legally to the complaint. This normally means filing either an official answer to the complaint, or some other form of responsive pleading (e.g. a demurrer or motion to strike). Failing to properly respond to a complaint can result in a default judgment, which can have very serious consequences, up to and including incurring an actual default judgment, which is the equivalent of flat-out losing the lawsuit.
Buffington Law Firm’s civil trial attorneys have handled many default situations. There can be many reasons why a defendant fails to properly respond to a complaint. Sometimes the defendant does not understand that he or she is required to respond by filing a pleading. Sometimes a defendant will call the hostile lawyer and engage the attorney in a discussion about the case. The conversation may end with the defendant erroneously believing that the matter has been put to rest, only to discovery much later that the opposing attorney entered default against the hapless defendant. Other times, a defendant is served with the complaint (lawsuit) and does not believe that he or she is really involved because a reading of the allegations in the complaint do not seem to really concern the defendant. There are many variations on this theme that have resulted in a default occurring.
Entry of default, or even worse, entry of actual default judgment, can greatly complicate a case. This is truly a situation in which an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Entry of default can be reversed. Default judgments can sometimes be vacated. But it is not always easy and it almost always involves additional legal expense to the defendant.
This can all be avoided by following a very simple rule, which is that if a person (or entity) is served with a complaint, he, she, or it should consult and likely retain an attorney. Do not engage in wishful thinking that you have resolved the matter with a phone call or letter. What almost always will happen in such circumstances is that the opposing attorney will gleefully pounce on the defendant’s vulnerability and enter default in court against you for failing to respond. It is almost always delusional wishful thinking to believe that you have talked an opposing attorney into dropping the case against you. Unless your own lawyer has advised you that this has been done, be very careful.
If you have been served with a lawsuit concerning trust litigation, business litigation, or a real estate dispute, Buffington Law Firm invites you to contact us for a free legal consultation. All consultations are with an actual, experienced trial attorney, are completely confidential, and there is never any cost or obligation.