I'M Being Sued In Small Claims Court - For Defendants
Being Sued in Small Claims Court
If you have been sued in small claims court, click on a topic to learn more:
If you think the person suing you (called "the plaintiff") owes you money or hurt you, you can sue them back (countersue) by filing a Defendant's Claim (SC-120). If you do this with enough time, both cases will be heard at the same time. Read the Small Claims home page to make sure you follow all the rules for filing a small claims case. You may also want to read I Want to Sue in Small Claims Court - For Plaintiffs since it covers many of the steps you will also have to follow to file your claim.
To sue the plaintiff back, follow these steps:
- Fill out your court forms
- Defendant's Claim and ORDER to Go to Small Claims Court (SC-120).
- If there are more than 2 plaintiffs or 2 defendants, also fill out Other Plaintiffs or Defendants (Attachment to Defendant's Claim and ORDER to Go to Small Claims Court) (SC-120A).
- If you need more space to describe your claim and what happened, or you need witness statements, you can use a Declaration (MC-030).
- If you are a business, you may also have to fill out a Fictitious Business Name (SC-103) declaration.
- File your Defendant's Claim (SC-120) and attachment 2
- Make at least 2 copies of the Defendant's Claim (SC-120) and any attachments.
- Turn the original and copies into the Clerk's Office located at 400 County Center, Room A in Redwood City.
- Pay the filing fee.
The court clerk will return the copies of the Defendant's Claim (SC-120) stamped "Endorsed-Filed" and with the same court date as was on the Plaintiff's Claim written on the front. That is your court trial.
E-Filing
If you file your forms electronically (through e-filing), visit our e-filing page since the instructions for step #2 will be different.
- Serve Your Defendant's Claim
"Service" is the legal way to give notice to someone in a court action. It is when someone-NOT you or anyone else listed in this case-gives a copy of your court papers to the person, business, or public entity you are filing a Defendant's Claim against. The plaintiff had to serve you with the Plaintiff's Claim. Now you must do it too with the Defendant's Claim.
The deadline you have to serve your Defendant's Claim (SC-120) depends on when you were served with the Plaintiff's Claim (SC-100):
- If you received a copy of the Plaintiff's Claim more than 10 days before the trial date, you have to serve the plaintiff at least 5 days before the trial.
- If you received a copy of the Plaintiff's Claim 10 days or less before the trial date, you have to serve the plaintiff at least 1 day before the trial.
- Prepare and go to court
Every county in California has a small claims court. The plaintiff has to sue you in the right court. Click to see where the plaintiff must file the case against you.
You can ask for your case to be dismissed if you are sued in the wrong court. Write to the court address shown on the claim you received and explain why you want a dismissal. You must also send a copy of your letter to the other side and file a proof of mailing with the court clerk. You can also go to court on the trial date and ask for your case to be dismissed.
If the court agrees with you, the case will be dismissed unless all defendants are present and agree to have the trial.
Click on Go to Court »
If you are sued and you did not go to your small claims trial, the court may enter a judgment against you based on the information the plaintiff provided, without hearing your side of the story. This is called a "default judgment."
You cannot appeal this kind of judgment and have a new trial until you vacate (or cancel) the default judgment. You must have a good reason for not going to your trial, like you were not properly served or you had a serious emergency.
There is a deadline to ask the court to vacate the default judgment:
- NO LATER THAN 30 DAYS from the date the court clerk mailed you the Notice of Entry of Judgment (SC-130 or SC-200), Or
- If you were not properly served with the Plaintiff's Claim (SC-100), you have 180 DAYS from the date you know (or should have known) there was a judgment against you.
To vacate a default judgment:
- Fill out a Notice of Motion to Vacate Judgment and Declaration (SC-135).
- Turn the original and copies into the Clerk's Office located at 400 County Center, Room A in Redwood City.
- Pay the filing fee.
- The clerk will give you a date for your trial. At the trial, the judge will decide whether to cancel the judgment or not.
Prepare and go to your court trial:
- Take any relevant evidence you can to the trial to show why you were unable to come to court the first time, like a letter from a doctor or a hospital bill.
- If the judge agrees to vacate (cancel) the judgment, the original case will probably be heard right then. Be prepared to tell your side of the story and present your evidence in an organized and concise manner at that time.
- If you have witnesses to help your case who could not be present, you can ask the judge for a continuance (a later court date, so you can have more time). The judge may or may not give you the continuance.
If the judge decides not to vacate the judgment, you can only appeal the judge's denial of the motion to vacate. You cannot appeal the judgment against you. You must file the appeal within 10 days of the judge's decision.
- To file the appeal use the Notice of Appeal (SC-140) and make sure you check the box for appealing the "denial of the motion to vacate the small claims judgment."
- Fill it out and file it with the small claims clerk and pay the filing fee (unless you already got a fee waiver order).
- If the judge decides not to grant your appeal and not to vacate the judgment, you are responsible for paying the judgment.
- If the judge does grant your appeal and vacates the judgment, the original case will usually be heard right then. Be prepared to present your case, including any evidence you have, at the time of the trial. Remember, your case will only be heard if the judge grants your appeal.
Click on What happens after trial »