Response Times Flashcards
Calendar Day v. Court Day
“Court days” refers to those days in which the courts are actually open and doing business
“Calendar days” refers to each day of the month, which include weekends and weekdays
Unless the rule states “court day” you can assume it is referring to “Calendar days”
“Holiday” is defined as every Saturday and Sunday, and every day the courts are closed
Litigation Timetable
In your book, you will find a LITIGATION TIMETABLE
The timetable will provide you with deadlines for the most common documents
For instance, if you need to know the deadline for your client to file an answer to the complaint, look for
“answer” – you will see the deadline is 30 days from the effective date of service
You will notice that many of the deadlines have asterisks (**)
This indicates that the deadline may be extended depending on the manner or method of service
Deadlines/Rules for Service by Mail (How to send/Where to Send/Effective Service Date/Deadline Extensions/Exempt from Extension/Options for Storage of docs after service/Original POS)
Docs served by mail must have first class postage prepaid and must be deposited in a facility maintained by USPS
Docs must be in sealed envelope, addressed to person being served
Send to office address as last given on any document filed in the cause and served on the party making service by mail
Otherwise serve at that party’s place of residence
Service is complete at the time of deposit for mail, but:
Response deadline extended 5 days for mail service within CA
Response deadline extended 10 days for service outside CA but within the U.S.
Response deadline extended 20 days if service is outside U.S.
Extension shall not apply to the time for filing notice of intention to move for new trial, notice of intention to move to vacate judgement pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure section 663a, or notice of appeal
Copy of the paper served by mail shall bear notification of the date and place of deposit or be accompanied by an unsigned copy of the affidavit or declaration of mailing
Be sure to sign original POS after you have served the doc
Service by Hand Delivery (Extensions/who can serve/process service/POS)
If you hand deliver the document, the effective date of service is the date it was delivered. There is NO extension of time
to do any action with hand delivery
Anyone can serve the document as long as they are not a party to the action and over the age of 18 years
Some offices utilize attorney services (process servers); others have file clerks or other staff members to perform such
duties
A proof of service will be completed by the person who served the document after service
Rules for Service by Express Mail or other overnight delivery (How to Send/Where to Send/When is service Complete/Response Deadline Extensions/Exemptions from Deadline extensions/storage after service)
Docs to be served must be place in facility regularly maintained by USPS (or, what overnight/express service you are using)
Docs must be in sealed envelope, express mail postage prepaid, addressed to the person on whom it is to be served
Address is last office location listed any doc filed/served on person now making service by express mail; or last known residence of party
Service is complete at the time of deposit, but:
response deadline extended 2 court days
extension shall not apply to extend the time for filing notice of intention to move for a new trialk, notice of intention to move to vacate judgement, notice of appeal
The copy of the notice or other paper served by express mail shall bear a notation of the date and place of deposit, and be accompanied by an unsigned copy of the affidavit
Rules for E-Service (Who can serve/transmission v. notification/docs not required to be personally served/method of service deadline extensions/service on court days/when extensions don’t apply)
E-service may be performed directly by a party, by an agent of a party, including the party’s attorney, or through an e-filing service
“Transmission” means you send the docs straight to the party-served’s email address, “Notification” means means you send a link to where the docs are being stored/hosted.
In any case in which e-service has been agreed upon/authorized (must be one or the other), court may e-serve any doc issued by the court that is not required to be personally served in the same manner that parties e-serve docs.
E-service of docs by the courts shall have the same legal effect as those served by mail, and the service is complete at the time of the electronic transmission of the doc or at the time that the e-notification of service of document has been sent
If e-served b/w 12:00 a.m and 11:59 p.m. on a court day, you have been served on that court day
If e-served on a non-court day, you will be deemed served on the next court day
response deadline extended two court days
Extension does not apply for filing notice of intention to move for a new trial, notice of intention to move for a judgement to be vacated, or notice of appeal
Extension applies in the absence of a specific statue or rule of the court
E-Service POS: What to Write (Address of server/date and time of service/person served/manner of service/filing/ deadline for filing moving papers POS/storage of POS)
E-service address of the person making service, in addition to that person’s residence/business address
Date/time of e-service, instead of the date and place of deposit in the mail
Name/e-service address of the person being served, in place of that person’s name and address as shown on the envelope
That the document was served electronically
Proof of e-service may be in electronic form and may be filed electronically with the court
POS of the moving papers must be filed at least five court days before the hearing
Party filing e-POS must maintain the printed form of the signed document and must make the document available for inspection and copying on request
Proof of Service (Definition/Forms/Order of Docs/Groups of docs v. Each doc/Originals v. Copies)
POS is an affidavit setting forth what, how, when, and by whom doc was served
Can use JC forms or a format on pleading paper
Should be the last page of the document
Either prepare POS for each document (make file organization easier) or POS for group of docs (requires its own caption page and will be filed as its own separate document)
Original POS is signed
Copies not signed
However, always date/note somehow that the original was signed
Make copies first and prepare for service, then sign the original POS
Most offices sign original, and then make copies, so copies have signature on them
Original POS is usually attached to original docs, but not always
POS: (Original POS/Filing and Serving POS and Subsequent Docs/Who to Serve/Listing attorneys on POS)
The original POS must be attached to the original document to be filed, except in motion practice when the POS of the moving papers must be filed no later than 5 court days before the time appointed hearing
Except with leave of the court, all pleadings subsequent to the complaint, together with POS unless a summons need be issued, shall be filed with the clerk or judge, and copies thereof served upon the adverse party and/or on their attorney
Whenever a document is required to be served on a party, the service must be made on the party’s attorney if the party is represented
If the POS names attorney for separately represented parties, it must also state which party or parties each of the attorneys served is representing
Motion Practice (Deadlines for filing and serving motions/extensions/deadlines for opposition/deadlines for reply to opposition/manner of service for opposition to motion and reply papers)
Unless otherwise ordered or specifically provided by law, all moving/supporting papers shall be served/filed at least 16 court days from hearing
Extensions:
Mail: CA = 5 days, outsiode CA = 10 days, outside U.S. = 20 days
E-service extends 16-day period by 2 calendar days
Extensions don’t apply to notice of motion, papers opposing motion, certain reply papers
All papers opposing a motion must be filed/served at least 9 court days prior to hearing
All reply papers at least 5 court days before hearing
The court, or a judge thereof, may prescribe a shorter time
Opposition to motion and all reply papers must be filed/served in such a way to ensure service is complete no later than COB of the following the day on which the papers were filed
Court Holidays (Definition/federal v. state)
“Holiday” is defined as every Saturday and Sunday, and every day the courts are closed
Pay attention to state court holidays v. federal court holidays
All holidays are specified in Government Code section 6700 and 6701
How to Count
exclude the first day, include the last day, unless the last day is a holiday, and then it is also excluded
Code Civ. Proc. §12
Rules when Counting forward
exclude the first day, include the last day, unless the last day is a holiday, and then it is also excluded
Rules when Counting Backward
Determined by counting backward from the hearing date, excluding the day of the hearing
Any additional days added to the specified number of days because of a particular method of service shall be computed by counting backward from the day determined in accordance with subdivision (a)
Steps To Determine a Deadline
First look at the POS to determine the date of service
Second determine if time is extended pursuant to method of service
Third, determine if timetable is calendar days or court days, then count forward
For hearing dates, count backward from date of hearing
