California Civil Litigation
The California Litigation Process
A California civil lawsuit moves through a fixed sequence of stages: filing the complaint, serving the defendant, the defendant’s response, a case management conference where the court sets a schedule, discovery (written questions, document demands, and depositions), expert witnesses, motions, mediation, and, if the case does not resolve, trial. Most of the calendar is taken up by discovery and by waiting for court dates, which is why cases that feel stalled are usually moving normally. Timelines vary widely depending on the county, the court’s calendar, the number of parties, and how hard the case is fought.
This page is written for people whose cases are already in litigation. If you are still in the claims stage and no lawsuit has been filed, start with the pre-litigation process instead.
Before the clock starts
The Deadline That Comes Before Everything Else
Every civil claim has a statute of limitations, the outside deadline for filing suit. Miss it and the claim is usually gone. In California, an action for injury to or the death of a person caused by another’s wrongful act or neglect generally must be filed within two years (Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1). An action on a written contract generally carries four years (section 337); an oral contract, two years (section 339). Those are general rules with many exceptions, including claims against public entities, claims involving minors, and harm not discovered right away. Never assume you know your deadline. Once the complaint is filed a second clock starts: the case must be brought to trial within five years of commencement (section 583.310), and the summons and complaint generally must be served within three years (section 583.210).
Stages one through four
Getting the Case Started and Getting It on the Court’s Calendar
01
Filing the Complaint: The Document That Starts the Lawsuit
A complaint is the document that opens a lawsuit. It names who is suing (the plaintiff) and who is being sued (the defendant), states the facts, lists the legal claims (called causes of action, such as breach of contract, fraud, or negligence), and says what the plaintiff asks the court to award. It is filed in the superior court for a county connected to the case, usually where the defendant lives or does business or where the events happened. Courts charge a filing fee, with more fees later for things like a jury deposit and motions, and a fee waiver is available to people who cannot afford them.
02
Service of Process: Formally Notifying the Other Side
Filing is not enough. The defendant must be formally handed the summons and complaint, which is called service of process, usually by a registered process server in person. Other methods are allowed, including substituted service on someone else at the address followed by a mailing, service on a company’s designated agent, and, with court permission, service by publication.
It matters because the court has no power over a defendant who was never properly served. Some defendants avoid the door. That is a normal problem with normal fixes: a skip trace for a current address, service at a workplace, or a motion to approve another method. It can add weeks or months. If a served defendant never responds, the plaintiff can seek a default judgment.
03
The Defendant’s Response, and Why a Demurrer Is Not a Disaster
A served defendant generally has 30 days to respond, and extensions between the lawyers are common. The response usually takes one of three forms. An answer admits or denies each allegation and lists affirmative defenses (reasons the defendant should win even if the facts are true, such as an expired deadline or the plaintiff’s own fault). A demurrer asks the court to throw out all or part of the complaint on the ground that, even assuming everything in it is true, it does not add up to a valid legal claim. The grounds are listed in Code of Civil Procedure section 430.10 and include failure to state facts sufficient to constitute a cause of action and uncertainty in the pleading. A motion to strike asks the court to delete specific words or requests, often a claim for punitive damages or attorney fees.
Clients often panic at a demurrer. It is a routine early move, not a ruling that your case is bad, and it argues about how the complaint is written, not whether you were harmed. Courts that sustain a demurrer commonly grant leave to amend, meaning the plaintiff files a revised complaint fixing the wording. A defendant may also file a cross-complaint, its own lawsuit inside the same case, against the plaintiff or a third party it says is responsible. That is common in construction, business, and multi-vehicle cases.
04
The Case Management Conference: Where the Case Gets a Trial Date
Once the pleadings settle, the court holds a case management conference, usually within the first several months after filing. Beforehand each side files a statement describing the claims, the parties, planned discovery, whether a jury is requested, and how long trial should take. The conference is short and handled by the lawyers, often remotely. Clients almost never need to attend.
This is where the case gets its skeleton. The judge typically sets a trial date plus deadlines working backward from it, and may order the parties to mediation. Nearly everything else is measured against that date, and it is worth knowing early that trial dates can and often do move.
Stages five through seven
Discovery: The Long Middle Where Most of the Time Goes
Discovery is the formal exchange of information between the parties. It is the longest phase of nearly every civil case and where clients most often feel nothing is happening. Something is happening. It just happens in 30 day increments, on paper, mostly out of sight.
05
Written Discovery: The Questions, Documents, and Admissions
Interrogatories are written questions the other side must answer in writing and under oath. Form interrogatories are standard questions on official Judicial Council forms, with no numeric cap on how many a party may use. Specially prepared interrogatories are written for your case, and a party is limited to 35 of them as a matter of right unless it serves a declaration justifying more (Code of Civil Procedure section 2030.030). Responses are generally due within 30 days of service (section 2030.260).
Requests for production demand documents and things: contracts, emails, texts, invoices, photographs, personnel files, repair records, medical records, accounting files. In a business dispute this is often the heaviest part of the case, because the documents are the case. Requests for admission ask the other side to admit or deny specific facts, narrowing what must be proven at trial. A party is generally limited to 35 as a matter of right, though requests to admit that documents are genuine are not capped (section 2033.030).
Plan for this part: you will have to help answer discovery, and your answers are given under oath. Your lawyer drafts and objects, but the facts come from you. Late or incomplete responses can waive objections, invite motions, and lead to sanctions, so treat every discovery deadline as a hard one.
06
Your Deposition: What It Is and What It Feels Like
A deposition is sworn question and answer testimony taken outside of court, usually in a conference room or by video. The opposing lawyer asks questions, a court reporter types every word, and your own lawyer sits beside you. There is no judge in the room. If you are a party, you should expect to be deposed.
It feels formal and slow, and most people find it less dramatic than they feared. Questions cover your background, the events, the documents, and the harm you say you suffered. Your testimony is under oath and can be read back to you at trial if your story changes, which is why the honest answer is always the right one, including when it is “I don’t know.” Your lawyer will meet with you beforehand to prepare.
California generally limits a deposition to seven hours of total testimony by all counsel other than the witness’s own lawyer (Code of Civil Procedure section 2025.290), with exceptions including expert depositions, employment cases, complex cases, and where the parties agree or the court extends the time. Witnesses, physicians, company representatives, and experts are deposed too, and scheduling them all is a common reason cases run long.
07
Expert Witnesses and Why They Drive the Budget
Some questions cannot be answered by ordinary witnesses. Whether a building was built to code, what a business would have earned but for a breach, how a collision happened, whether a surgery met the standard of care: these call for an expert witness, a qualified professional who reviews the evidence and gives an opinion.
Near the end of discovery, California has a formal expert designation step where both sides exchange lists of the experts they intend to call. Those experts are then deposed. They charge hourly for review, reports, deposition, and testimony, which makes them one of the largest single costs in litigation. Your lawyer should discuss which experts a case genuinely needs before that money is spent.
Stages eight through eleven
Motions, Mediation, Trial, and What Comes After
08
Law and Motion: Discovery Fights and Summary Judgment
A motion is a written request asking the judge to order something. Discovery motions arise when one side does not produce what it should. The lawyers are first expected to try to work it out in a meet and confer letter or call. If that fails, the requesting party can move to compel a further response, and the judge can order production and, in some circumstances, order the losing side to pay the other’s fees.
The heavyweight is summary judgment, governed by Code of Civil Procedure section 437c. Plainly put, it asks the judge to decide the case, or part of it, without a trial: the moving party argues that once you look at the sworn evidence gathered in discovery, there is no genuine dispute about any fact that matters. A partial version, summary adjudication, knocks out individual claims or defenses instead. These motions are long, expensive, and filed far ahead. The papers must be served at least 81 days before the hearing, and the motion must be heard no later than 30 days before trial unless the court orders otherwise. One filed against you does not mean you are losing. It means the other side wants the judge, rather than a jury, to end the dispute.
09
Mediation, Settlement, and the Pressure a Statutory Offer Creates
Mediation is a private, confidential settlement meeting run by a neutral third party, often a retired judge. The mediator has no power to decide anything. The parties usually sit in separate rooms while the mediator moves between them, testing assumptions and carrying offers. Courts also hold mandatory settlement conferences shortly before trial, where a judicial officer does something similar. The large majority of California civil cases resolve before a verdict.
California also has a settlement tool with teeth: the statutory offer to compromise under Code of Civil Procedure section 998. Either side may serve a written offer to settle on stated terms. If the other side rejects it and then fails to do better at trial, that party can lose the right to recover its own post-offer costs and can be ordered to pay the offering party’s post-offer costs, including reasonable expert witness fees. That puts real money at risk for whoever turns down a reasonable number, which is why a 998 offer changes the temperature of a case. These offers have strict timing and form requirements and are generally deemed withdrawn if not accepted within 30 days or before trial begins, whichever comes first.
When a case settles, the terms are put in writing and signed. Under section 664.6, the parties can ask the court to keep jurisdiction to enforce the settlement, so that if someone does not pay or perform, the court can enter judgment on the agreed terms rather than forcing a new lawsuit. The decision to settle is always yours, not your lawyer’s.
10
Trial: How It Actually Runs, and Why the Date Moves
A civil jury trial follows a familiar order. Jury selection comes first, where the lawyers and judge question prospective jurors. Then opening statements previewing what the evidence will show. Then the evidence: witnesses under direct and cross-examination, plus documents, photographs, and expert opinions. Then closing arguments, the judge’s instructions on the law, and the jury’s verdict. Some cases are tried to a judge instead, called a bench trial.
Be ready for this: trial dates in California move often. Courtrooms are shared, criminal cases take priority, and continuances come from either side needing more time or from no courtroom being free that day. A case can be sent out for trial, trailed day to day, then continued for months. It is frustrating, and it is not a sign that anything has gone wrong with your case.
11
After the Verdict: Judgment, Appeal, and Actually Getting Paid
A verdict is not the end. The losing side can file post-trial motions asking the trial judge to order a new trial, to reduce or increase an award, or to enter judgment contrary to the verdict. The court then enters a judgment, the formal order stating who owes what.
An appeal is not a second trial. There is no new evidence; a higher court reviews the record for legal error. The deadlines are short and unforgiving. Under California Rules of Court rule 8.104, a notice of appeal generally must be filed by the earliest of 60 days after the clerk serves a notice of entry of judgment, 60 days after a party serves or is served with one, or 180 days after entry of judgment. Appeals commonly add a year or more.
Then the part nobody expects. A judgment is a piece of paper, not a payment. If the defendant is insured, the insurer generally pays. If not, collecting is its own process with its own tools: debtor examinations, wage garnishment, bank levies, and property liens. A defendant with no assets and no insurance may be uncollectible, which is why “can this defendant actually pay” belongs at the beginning of a case, not the end.
The honest answer on time
How Long a California Lawsuit Takes
There is no reliable single answer, and anyone giving you a firm number is guessing. What can be said honestly is how the phases stack up. Getting the defendant served and past the pleading stage often takes a few months, longer if a defendant is hard to find or files a demurrer. Discovery is usually the largest block, frequently running a year or more in a contested case. Expert work, summary judgment briefing, and mediation fill the stretch before trial. Many California civil cases that go the distance reach trial somewhere in the range of two to three years after filing, and complex or multi-party matters take longer. Cases that settle can end at any point along the way.
Those ranges vary by county and by case, and congestion differs enormously between courthouses. What moves a case faster is organized evidence, on-time discovery responses, and realism about value. What slows one down is added parties, discovery fights, and crowded trial calendars. There is a backstop: Code of Civil Procedure section 583.310 requires that an action be brought to trial within five years after it is commenced, subject to periods excluded by law.
If your case feels quiet, ask your lawyer what stage it is in and what the next dated event is. There is almost always an answer, usually a deadline or a hearing you simply were not told about yet.
Your part of the work
What the Client Is Actually Responsible For
Your lawyer handles the law and the strategy. A few things only you can do, and cases are damaged far more often by these than by anything a judge decides.
- Answer discovery fully and on time. The responses are sworn. Gather documents when asked, not weeks later, and read every draft answer before it is served.
- Preserve your evidence. Do not delete emails, texts, photos, or records connected to the dispute, even unflattering ones. Destroying evidence causes far more harm than the evidence itself.
- Sit for your deposition, prepared. Show up to the prep session, tell the truth simply, and stop talking when the answer is finished.
- Stay reachable. Cases stall when a client cannot be found for a signature or a court date.
- Tell your lawyer the bad facts first. The prior lawsuit, the earlier injury, the text you regret. Bad facts handled early are manageable. Bad facts discovered by the other side at your deposition are not.
- Be careful what you post. Social media is routinely searched by the other side and can become evidence.
Questions clients ask
Frequently Asked Questions About the Litigation Process
Why is my case taking so long?
Usually because of discovery and the court’s calendar, not because your case is being ignored. Written discovery runs on 30 day cycles, depositions must be scheduled around several calendars, motions are set months out, and trial courts are congested. Long quiet stretches are normal. If it bothers you, ask your lawyer for the next three dated events in the case.
Do I have to testify?
If you are a party, expect to give deposition testimony, and to testify at trial if the case is tried. Your lawyer prepares you for both. Preparation is not coaching you on what to say. It is making sure you understand the process, the documents, and how to answer honestly and only the question asked.
Will I have to go to court?
Less than most people expect. Case management conferences and most motion hearings are handled by the lawyers, often remotely. Expect to attend mediation and, in many courts, a settlement conference, and to attend trial if the case is tried. Your lawyer will tell you well in advance which dates require you.
What does litigation cost?
Two separate things: attorney fees and case costs. Case costs are out of pocket expenses the lawsuit generates: filing fees, service of process, court reporters and transcripts, records subpoenas, mediation fees, jury fees, and experts. Experts and depositions are usually the biggest items. Fees depend on the matter. Injury cases are typically handled on a contingency fee, meaning the fee comes out of a recovery and there is no fee without one. Business and contract litigation is often hourly or another arrangement. Get the fee agreement in writing, and ask who advances costs and how they are repaid.
Can we just settle?
Settlement is available at any stage if both sides agree. It takes two, though, and a defendant that does not yet believe the evidence will not pay a fair number, so some discovery usually has to happen first. A statutory offer to compromise under Code of Civil Procedure section 998 is one way to pressure that decision. The choice to accept or reject any settlement is yours.
What happens if we lose?
A losing party may face a judgment against it and an obligation to pay the prevailing party’s recoverable costs. Attorney fees shift only when a contract or statute provides for it. There may be grounds to appeal, but appeals are limited to legal error and have short deadlines. A rejected section 998 offer can also affect what costs are owed. Your lawyer should walk you through this exposure before trial, not after.
Can I talk about my case publicly or post about it on social media?
The safest answer is no. Posts, photos, and comments can be requested in discovery, and a casual sentence can be used to contradict your testimony. Talking about the case with friends also strips away confidentiality: what you tell your lawyer is privileged, what you tell a neighbor is not. Assume anything you publish will be printed out and handed to you at your deposition.
Talk to a lawyer
Wave Law Firm, APC
Wave Law Firm handles civil litigation across California, including business and contract disputes, personal injury, and other civil matters. Attorney Paymon A. Khatibi has been licensed to practice in California since 2012. Consultations are free, the phone is answered 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and we travel to clients anywhere in California. Hablamos Español. Injury matters are handled on a contingency fee; fee arrangements in business and contract matters vary and are discussed up front.
Learn more about the matters we handle, read about the pre-litigation claims process, or see specific pages on auto accidents and wrongful death. You can also contact us directly.
Los Angeles: 355 S. Grand Ave, Suite 2450, Los Angeles, CA 90071
Santa Cruz: 710 River St., Suite 9, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
This page is general information about California civil litigation and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different and timelines vary. Speak with a lawyer about your situation.