When is opposition to demurrer due

In any California lawsuit, there are numerous deadlines both parties must meet. Failing to meet these deadlines could result in important penalties for the late party. In some cases, it could also result in the claim being waived altogether. This article provides a general overview of the first steps of the process in civil lawsuits in California.

The Deadline to File Statute of Limitations. The party that files a complaint is called the plaintiff. The party that is being sued is usually called the defendant. A plaintiff cannot be successful in a lawsuit if they failed to file it on time. The applicable statute of limitations will depend on the type of lawsuit that is filed. The most common of those deadlines are listed in the table below. There are, of course, many exceptions and caveats to these general rules. For example, claims against a government entity are often subject to a different and much shorter statute of limitations altogether.

Disclaimer Bell Warning. The times listed above are informational only, and should not be relied on as legal advice. If you might be facing an issue with the applicable statute of limitations, you should not rely on this article. Instead, discuss the matter with a qualified attorney as soon as possible. Calculating Deadlines after a Complaint Is Filed. The next chapter will take a look at lawsuit deadlines after a complaint has been filed.

Unlike statutes of limitations, which are generally measured in years, most post-complaint lawsuit deadlines are measured in days. This chapter will examine both of these issues. For the most part, the days discussed below are calendar days, not business or court days.

There are, of course, certain exceptions, particularly when it comes to responding to motions. When making calendar calculations for those time limits not based on court days , you generally exclude the first day and include the last day, unless it falls on a weekend or holiday. When the law requires that an act be performed no later than a specified number of days before a hearing date, the last day to perform the act is calculated by counting backwards from the hearing date, excluding the day of the hearing.

If the last day to respond falls on a weekend or a holiday, the deadline usually falls on the next court day. The deadline for filing a motion for reconsideration, for example, might be extended if the challenged order was served by mail to the moving party. Early Deadlines for Plaintiffs in Civil Cases. After a complaint is filed, the plaintiff will have a number of responsibilities. Most importantly, plaintiffs must serve all named defendants and file a proof of service with the court within 60 days of the filing of the complaint.

A court can also impose sanctions on the plaintiff. There are exceptions, however, for plaintiffs that fail to show any cause. Plaintiffs will then have a number of other deadlines they will have to meet early in the case:.

Of course, before planning your schedule around these dates, be sure to review all applicable statutes and local rules to make sure a different deadlines does not apply. Early Deadlines for Defendants in Civil Cases. Like the plaintiff, defendants who have been served with a complaint have several important early deadlines. Most commonly, they must file their response to the complaint within 30 days of being served.

Answers are the most common first document filed by defendants in a lawsuit. An answer is a written response to the complaint. Demurrers are another common type of early filing by defendants. Usually, the demurrer alleges that the complaint is deficient because the facts alleged do not meet one or more of the elements necessary to win.

A demurrer is often filed with the answer, but if it is not the defendant may file the demurrer within 30 days of the service of the complaint or cross-complaint. In addition to these common deadlines, there are a few other limits that defendants should consider after being served with a complaint:.

Again, before planning your schedule around these dates, be sure to review all applicable statutes and local rules to make sure a different deadlines does not apply. The deadlines discussed above are only the beginning of the litigation process. After the initial deadlines have been met or skipped , the case will usually proceed with discovery. Discovery is a process where the parties exchange evidence. In general, defendants have a right to begin propounding their discovery requests anytime after the action begins.

The party who filed the complaint, cross-complaint, or answer shall provide legal support for its position that the pleading is legally sufficient or, in the alternative, how the complaint, cross-complaint, or answer could be amended to cure any legal insufficiency. If the parties are not able to meet and confer at least five days prior to the date the responsive pleading is due, the demurring party shall be granted an automatic day extension of time within which to file a responsive pleading, by filing and serving, on or before the date on which a demurrer would be due, a declaration stating under penalty of perjury that a good faith attempt to meet and confer was made and explaining the reasons why the parties could not meet and confer.

The day extension shall commence from the date the responsive pleading was previously due, and the demurring party shall not be subject to default during the period of the extension.

Any further extensions shall be obtained by court order upon a showing of good cause. B That the party who filed the pleading subject to demurrer failed to respond to the meet and confer request of the demurring party or otherwise failed to meet and confer in good faith. This subdivision may require creative lawyering, as plaintiffs and cross-complainants will be able to argue that points in a demurrer to an amended pleading could have been raised in opposition to a prior pleading.

Section The non-demurring party then must respond with legal support of why its pleading is legally sufficient. The meet-and-confer must take place at least five days before the responsive pleading is due. If a live-time conference does not take place in time, the demurring party can file a declaration saying it made a good faith effort to meet and confer and why it did not happen, and it will receive an automatic day extension to respond.

Regardless of its meet-and-confer efforts, the demurring party must file a declaration with its demurrer saying that it met and conferred and was unable to resolve all of its objections or that the non-demurring party failed to meet and confer with it.

The state legislature also amended Civ. Code Section , which previously only allowed an amendment of a pleading once as of course before an answer or demurrer is filed, or after the demurrer and before the trial. Now, a party can amend its pleading as of course after a demurrer is filed but before it is heard if the amended pleading is filed and served by the date for filing an opposition to the demurrer.

Subd g amended and relettered effective January 1, ; adopted as subd e. A motion to dismiss the entire action and for entry of judgment after expiration of the time to amend following the sustaining of a demurrer may be made by ex parte application to the court under Code of Civil Procedure section f 2. Subd h amended and relettered effective January 1, ; adopted as subd f ; previously amended effective July 1, If an amended pleading is filed after the time allowed, an order striking the amended pleading must be obtained by noticed motion under Code of Civil Procedure section Subd i amended effective January 1, ; adopted as part of subd f ; previously amended effective July 1, ; previously amended and lettered effective January 1,